HX64096467 
R1 54.K79  T61  Anniversary  tribute 


RECAP 


ANNIVERSARY  TRIBUTE 


ON  HIS 


Seventietli  Birtlidav,  MarcK  28th,  1920 


f^RANCiS  A.  TONDORF,  S.  J    PM,  D. 


Columbia  Wini\3tvsiitp 

in  tfje  Citp  of  ^etD  l^orfe 

College  of  ^fjpsficiantf  anb  ^urgeong 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Open  Knowledge  Commons 


http://www.archive.org/details/anniversarytribuOOtond 


ANNIVERSARY  TRIBUTE 


TO 


GEORGE  MARTIN  KOBER 

.     IN  CELEBRATION  OF  HIS 

SEVENTIETH  BIRTHDAY 

BY  HIS 

FRIENDS  AND   ASSOCIATES 
MARCH  28,  1920 


FRANCIS  A.  TONDORF.  S.  J..  Ph.  D. 


WASHINGTON.  D.  C. 
1920 


7/      . 


7G 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHYSICAL  ANTHROPOLOGY. 

THE  GEORGE  M.  KOBER  AXXTVERSARV  COMMITTEE I-II 

BIOGRAPHY  OF  DR.   KOBER   III-VI 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  NEGRITOS  OF  THE  PHILIPPINE 
ISLANDS  .  Philip  Newton.  M.  D.,  Assistant  Professor  of 
Anatomy,   Georgetown   Universit\'   1-:M 

THE    INDIAN    BRAIN.      J.    J.    Keegax.    From    the    Department    of 

Anatomy,    University   of   Nebraska 25-6:i 

r 

THE  NASO-ORBITO-ALVEOLAR  INDEX.  A  New  Craniometric 
Method  including  a  Description  of  a  Specially  Designed  Indexo- 
meter  for  Estimating  it.  JoHX  Camerox.  Professor  of  Anatomy, 
Dalhousie  University.  Halifax,  N.  S G.^-Tf) 

ASPECTS  OF  THE  SKULL.  HOW  SHALL  THEY  BE  REPRE- 
SENTED? George  Grant  Maccurdy,  Peabody  Museum,  Yale  Uni- 
versity           77-82 

MULTIPLE  BIRTHS  AMONG  THE  CHIXESE.    Berthold  Laufer, 

Field  Museum  of  National  History,  Chicago  _ 83-96 

RACE  SUICIDE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.   Warren  S.  TnoMPsex, 

Cornell  University  97-146 

ANTHROPOMETRY.     Ales  Hrdlicka,  U'.  S.  National  Museum 147-1T4 

THE  MORTALITY  ST.\TISTICS  OF  INSURED  WAGE-EARXERS 
.\XI)  TIlI-:iR  FAMILIES.  Louis  I.  Dubli.x.  Ph.  D.,  Statiscian  ; 
witii  the  Collaboration  of  H!nwix  W.  Kopk,  .Assistant  Statiscian. 
and  George  H.  Va.x  Burex.  Supervisor  Statistical  Bureau,  Metro- 
politan  Life   Insurance   Company,   New   ^'ork 170-186 

THI-:    XEWEST    DISCOVERY    OF    "AXCIEXT'    M.\X    iX    THE 

UNITED  STATES.    Ales  Hrdlicka 187-192 

INFLUENZA  AMONG  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS.    By  the  Public 

H  ealth   Service  _ 1 9!!- 1 94 

TUBERCULOSIS     AMONG     THE    NATIONS     IX     THE    WEST 

INDIES    194-190 

SEX  DETERMINATION 195 

MORTALITY  OF  INFANTS  OF  Dli-i'KRKXT  RACIAL  GROUPS 196 

CURRENT  NOTES  197-198 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  DR.  KOBER 199-211 


PART  II. 
ANNIVERSARY  TRIBUTES. 

RcprUitcd  from  Gcorgcto'u'n  College  Joitniul.  Kobcr  .lniiic'crsar\ 
Number.  March.  lH-iO. 

BIOGRAPHY  OF  DR.  KOBER.     Francis  A.  Toxdorf.  S.  J.,  Ph.  D.. 

Head    of    the    Department    of     Physiology,    Georgetown     Medical 

School    217 

KOBER   AS   DEAN.     Wilfrkd  M.  Barton.  M.  D.,   '9:.'.   Professor  of 

Therapeutics  Georgetown   Medical   School  2:2.") 

KOBER  AS  THE  STUDENTS'  FRIEND.    John  A.  Foote,  M.  D.,   0(5. 

Associate    Professor    of    Clinical    Medicine,    Georgetown    Medical 

School    229 

AN  APPRECIATION.     Llewellyn   Eliot.  M.  D.,  '74 2:11 

TRIBUTE  OF  THE  REV.  J.  HAVENS  RICHARDS,  S.  J.,  President 

of  Georgetown  University  1888-1898  232 

TO  DR.  KOBER  (On  the  celebration  of  his  Seventieth  Anniversary), 

Verse.    Edward  F.  Mack.  A.  B.,  '20 2.'}6 

ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  GEORGETOWN  CLINICAL  SOCIETY. 

James    A.    Gannon,    M.    D.,    '06,    Associate    Clinical    Professor    of 

Surgery,  Georgetown  Medical  School  2.37 

TO  A  PHYSICIAN.    John  A.  Foote,  M.  D.,  '06 240 

A  TRIBUTE  TO  DR.  KOBER.    From  A  Pre-Medical  Student.  (Verse) 

Thomas  E.  Mattingly  241 

W'ERTH.      (A  German   Poem).     Kurt  \'oelkner 242 

EDITORIAL.    Joseph  R.  Micklkr.  Jr..  A.  B.,  '20 _ , 243 

CONGRATULATIONS  FROM  THE  SOPHOMORE  CLASS :244 

COMPLIMENTARY  DINNER  245 

LISTOFGUESTS 249 

INTRODUCTORY  SPEECH.     Francis  R.  Hagner,  M.  D.,  President 

Medical  Society,  District  of  Columbia 252 

OPENING   ADDRESS   OF  THE   TOASTMASTER.     Dr.   John   A. 

Foote - : 252 

A  TRIBUTE  FROM  THE  MEDICAL  SOCIETY.    William  C.  Wood- 

w.\RD,  Health  Commissioner  of  Boston,  Mass 254 

PRESENTATION  OF  A  COPY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  JOURNAL 

OF    PHYSICAL    ANTHROPOLOGY.      Profes.sor    William    H. 

Holmes.  Head  Curator  Department  of  Anthropology  U.  S.  National 

Museum.     Representing  the  Anthropology   Society 261 

A  TRIBUTE  FROM  THE  CIVIC  ORGANIZATIONS.    Hon.  Henry 

B.  Macfarland,  Formerly  President  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners 

of  the  District  of  Columbia  263 

A     TRIBUTE     FROM     THE     WASHINGTON     ACADEMY     OF 

SCIENCES.     Dr.  Robert  S.  Woodward,  President  of  the  Carnegie 

Institution  of  Washington  265 

A  TRIBUTE  FORAI  THE  COSMOS  CLUB.    Dr.  Harvey  W.  Wiley, 

Director  of  Bureau  of  Foods,  Sanitation  and  Health  267 

PRESENTATION  OF  LOVING  CUP.    Dr.  Charles  W.  Richardson. 

Member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  American  Medical  Association, 

etc.,    etc •    271 

RESPONSE  by  Dr.  Kober  272 

SOLDIER,   SCIENTIST,   PHYSICIAN   AND   PHILANTHROPIST. 

(A  Poem).     S.  Adolphus  Knopf,  M.  D 277 

CONGRATULATORY  TELEGRAMS  AND  LETTERS  279 


PART  III. 
A  VINDICATION  OF  VIVISECTION. 


PREFACE  287 

LECTURE  I.— "A  VINDICATION  OF  ANIMAL  ENPERIMEN- 
TATION."  Based  upon  the  work  of  the  Rockefeller  Institute  for 
Medical  Research  in  New  York  Citv.  Bv  Simox  Fi.exxer.  Director, 
M.  D.,  Sc.  D,  LL.  D ' 289-301 

LECTURE  II.— THE  LEGAL  ASPECTS  OF  MMSECTION.  By 
WiLLi.vM  Creightox  Woodw.ard,  M.  D..  LL.  M.  Health  Commis- 
sioner of  Boston,  Mass..  Professor  of  Medical  Jurisprudence  George- 
town   University 302-309 

LECTURE  III.— SOME  OF  THE  ETHICAL  ASPECTS  OF  ANI- 
MAL ENPERIMENTATION.  By  Wm.  H.  Arthlr.  M.  D..  F.  A. 
C.    S.      Late    Commandant    Army    ^led'cal    School 310-31.5 

LECTURE  IV.— WHAT  ANIMAL  EXPERIMENTATION  HAS 
DONE  FOR  GYNECOLOGY  AND  ABDOMINAL  SURGERY. 
By  TnoM.xs  S.  Cti.i.ex,  M.  D.  Professor  of  Clinical  Gynecology, 
Johns   Hopkins   Hospital 315-324 

LECTURE  v.— ACHIEVEMENTS  pF  ANIMAL  P:XPER1MENTA- 
TION  IN  GENERAL  SURGERY.  By  Georce  Tui.ly  Vaugh.-^n, 
M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  F.  A.  S.  Professor  of  Surgery  Georgetown 
University  324-331 

LECTURE  VI.— ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  MEDICAL  CORPS  OF 
THE  ARMY  IN  PREVENTIVE  MEDICINE.  By  George  B. 
Foster,  Jr.,  M.  D.,  Dr.  P.  H.  Major  Medical  Corps,  United 
States  Army 331-342 

LECTURE  VII.— THE  LABORATOR^'  WORK  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES  PUBLIC  HEALTH  SERVICE.  By  A.  M.  Stimson. 
Surgeon  U.  S.  P.  H.  S.  Assistant  Director,  Hygienic  Laboratory, 
Washington,   D.   C 1..  342-348 

LECTURE  VIII— THE  ECONOMIC  ADVANTAGES  DERIVED 
FROM  ANIMAL  EXPERIMENT.\TION.  By  Erxest  Chari.es 
Schroeder,  M.  D.,  D.  V.  M.  Superintendent  Experiment  Station 
United  States  Bureau  of  Animal   Industry,  Bethcsda.   Md 348-362 

LECTURE  IX.— THE  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  DENTAL  MEDICINE 
AND  ORAL  HYGIENE.  By  Ralph  A.  Hamh.tox.  M.  D.  Prof- 
essor of  Bacteriologv  and  Pathology  Georgetown  University  Medi- 
cal School 3G3-3()8 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS  TO  THE  COl'RSE  OF  LECTURES 
ON  VIVISECTION.  By  George  M.  Kob':r  M.  D.,  LL.  D.  Dean 
of  the  Georgetown   L'niversity  School   of   Medicine 368-370 

MOR.\L  ASPECTS  OF  VIVISPXTION.  A  Dgest  of  the  Statement 
of  Rev.  Fraxcis  A.  Toxdorf,  S.  J..  Ph.  D.  Professor  of  Physiology, 
Georgetown  University  School  of  Medicine,  before  the  Subcommittee 
of  the  Commmittcc  on  the  Judiciary  of  the  United  States  Senate  on 
November    4,    1919 ' -  371-372 

GENERAL  STATEMENT  IN  PROTEST  AGAINST  THE  ENACT- 
MENT OF  S.  12.58;  a  Bill  to  Prohibit  Experiments  upon  Living 
Dogs  in  the  D'strict  of  Columbia,  before  the  same  Committee.  By 
George  M.  Kober.  M.  D..  LL.  D 372-377 

A  PLEA  FOR  SANITY  IN  LE(;iSLATION  ON  ANIMAL  EXPFIRI- 
MEXTATION  (With  special  reference  to  the  Dog).  By  Mtrrav 
Gai.t  Mottkr,  M.  D.  Formerly  Professor  of  Physiology  George- 
town   Universitv   Medical    School   378-381 


Vol.  Ill 


WASHINGTON,  JANUARY-MARCH,  1920 


No.  1 


AMEEICAN  JOURNAL 


OF 


PHYSICAL 
ANTHROPOLOGY 


Published  Quarterly 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


ASSOCIATE    EDITORS 


Professor  G.  Stanley  Hall 
President,  Clark  University 

Dr.  E.  a.  Hooton 
Peabody  Museum,  Harvard  University 

Professor  George  Grant  MacCtjrdy 
Yale  University 

Dr.  Charles  B.  Davenport 
Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington 

Profes.sor  Franz  Boas 

Columbia  University 
Dr.  Clark  Wissler 

American  Museum  of  Natural  History 

Professor  J.  Howard  McGregor 
Columbia  University 

Professor  E,  V.  Cowdry 
Peking  Union  Medical  College 

Professor  H.  H.  Donaldson 
Wistar  Institute 


Dr.  William  C.  Farabee 

The  University  Museum  of  Philadelphia 
Dr.  George  M.  Kober 

Dean  of  Medical  Department,  Georgetown 
University 

Dh.  J.  H.  ICellogg 
Superintendent,  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium 

Dr.  Berthold  Laufer 

Field  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Chicago 

Professor  J.  C.  Merriam 
National  Research  Council 

Professor  A.  L.  Kroeber 
University  of  California 

Professor  A.  E.  Jenks 
University  of  Minnesota 

Sir  Francis  H.  S.  Knowles 
Victoria  Museum,  Ottawa 


(  Domestic,  $5.00 
Annual  Subscription  <  Canada,  $5.25,  U.  S.  currency 

(  Other  Countries,  $5.50,  U.  S.  currency 

All  communicntiona  and  rcniittanocH  rdiitinK  to  (Ik-  .I<)urn:il  Blimild  1h'  uddrcsttcd  fo  tin-  Kilitor,  AmericRn 

Journal  >>(  Physical  .Anthropology,  U.  S.  N.ition;il  Museum,  SiuithHouiou  IiiHlituttun, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Entered  as  second  class  matter,  Juno  1 1 ,  lOIK.  ,it  the  Post  Office  at  WashingtoD,  D.  C.  undci  tho  Act  of  March  3,  1879 


SCOPE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHYSICAL 

ANTHROPOLOGY 


I.  A.  Anthkopology  in  General 

o.  History;  Present  condition;  General 


B.  Research 

^.  Evolution;  Man's  Origin;  Early  Man 

c.  Human  Ontogeny:  Embryology;  Childhood;  Adolescence;  Decline;  Death 

d.  Heredity ;  Eugenics 

e.  Man's  Variation:  Osteology;  Teeth;  Soft  parts;  Body  proportions;  Races;  Physi- 

ological, Mental 
/.  Demography;  Vital  and  Racial  Statistics 

g.  Abnormal  Classes;  Comparative  Human  Pathology  and  Teratology 
X.  Anthropological  Problems  pecuhar  to  the  United  States 
XX.  The  American  Indian 


II.  War  Anthropology 

a.  The  Peoples  at  War 

h.  Everything  of  Anthropological  interest  connected  directly  or  indirectly  with  the  War 


III.  American  Collections 
o.  Status  of 
h.  Field  work 

c.  Specially  important  accessions 

d.  Exhibits 


IV.  Anthropometry  and  Methods  in  General 
a.  History 
6.  International  Agreements 

c.  Instruments 

d.  Directions 

e.  Sedation;  Curves;  Biometric  Methods 
/.  Illustration 

Q.  Methods  of  Excavation,  Transportation,  Preservation 


V,  Speclal  Communications  and  Reports 


VI.  Reviews  and  Annotated  Biblioqraphy 


VII.  Notes  and  Current  Anthropological  News 
a.  Special  lectures;  Miscellaneous 
h.  Appointments,  Promotions,  Changes 
c.  Deaths;  Obituaries 


THE  GEORGE  M.  KOBER  ANNIVERSARY  COMMITTEE 

Dr.  George  M.  Kober,  Dean  of  the  Medical  faculty,  Georgetown 
University,  reached  the  age  of  70  years  on  March  28,  1920.  That  the 
day  might  not  pass  without  some  slight  testimonial  of  the  admiration 
and  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  pupils,  friends  and  co-workers  in 
the  many  fields  of  his  activities,  a  number  of  Dr.  Kober's  associates 
met  on  October  24,  1919,  and  decided  to  issue  an  anniversary  publi- 
cation, dedicated  to  him.  This  Organization  Committee  consisted 
of  Dr.  George  Tully  Vaughan,  Chairman;  Mr.  Felix  Neumann, 
Secretary;  Mr.  John  Joy  Edson,  Treasurer;  and  General  Robert  E. 
Noble,  Dr.  Charles  D.  Walcott,  Dr.  W.  M.  Barton,  Dr.  J.  W.  Fewkes, 
Prof.  W.  H.  Holmes,  Dr.  Walter  Hough,  Dr.  L.  O.  Howard,  Dr.  A. 
Hrdlicka,  Mr.  Neil  M.  Judd  and  Dr.  Truman  Michelson. 

Owing  to  the  shortness  of  the  intervening  period  and  to  uncertain- 
ties of  publication,  it  was  considered  advisable  to  accept  the  offer  of 
Dr.  Ales  Hrdlicka,  editor  of  the  American  Journal  of  Physical  Anthro- 
pologj',  and  issue  the  first  quarterlj-  of  that  Journal  for  1920,  as  the 
George  M.  Kober  Anniversary  Number.  Dr.  Kober  has  been  an 
associate  editor  of  the  Journal  since  its  -inception.  Although  Dr. 
Kober's  scientific  interests  include  such  divergent  subjects  as  Military 
Medicine,  Occupational  and  Social  Diseases,  Hygiene,  Tuberculosis, 
Social  Welfare,  and  Physical  Anthropology,  the  specific  character  of 
the  American  Journal  of  Phj'sical  Anthropology*  limited  contributions 
to  those  bearing  directly  upon  the  latter  title. 

Considering  the  manj'  distinguished  services  rendered  by  Dr. 
Kober  to  the  advancement  of  medical  science  and  to  the  social  welfare 
of  the  United  States,  it  is  significant  to  note  that  appreciation  of  his 
efforts  is  not  confined  to  the  District  of  Cohunbia.  The  list  of  names 
which  follows  is  ample  proof  that  the  liomage  jiaid  Dr-.  Kober  at  this 
time  is  nation  wide. 

membefts  ob^  the  national  committee  and  subscribers  to  the 
George  M.   Koheh  Anniversary  Number: 

ABEL,    DR.   .JOHN   J.  ADAMS.    DR.   SAMUKL  S. 

BHitiiiiorc,  Mil.  \\'iu<liiiintoii,  D.  C\ 

AHT,    DR.    ISAAC    H.  ACIiAMONTK,    DR.    ARISTIDES 

Chic.-igo,  III.  HiivfUKi.  Cuba. 

ACKER,    DR.    A.    E.  ANDERS,   .lAMES    M. 

.I:i<ksotivill<",  Klii.  IMiila.lrlphi.i,  l':». 


ANNIVERSARY   COMMITTKE 


McCAW,  W.  D.,  Brig.  Gen.,  A.  M.  C, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
MELTZER,    DR.   S.   J. 

New  York  Citj'. 
MERRITT,    HARRY   B. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
MICHELSON,   DR.   TRUMAN 

Washington,  D.  C. 
MOFFITT,   DR.   HERBERT   C. 

San  Francisco,  Calif. 
MORAN,   DR.   JOHN   F. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
MUNCASTER,    DR.   S.   B. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
MUNSON,  EDW^ARD  L.,  Col.,  A.  M.  C, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
MURPHY,   DR.   F.    L. 

Dunmore,  Pa. 
NEUMANN,   FELIX 

Washington,  D.  C. 
NEWTON,    DR.   J.   M. 

Jarvisburg,  N.  C. 
NOBLE,  R.  E.,  Brig.  Gen.,  A.  M.  C, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
O'HARA,  DR.  J.  F. 

Canton,  Ohio. 
OWEN,   W.   O.,   Col.,   A.    M.   C, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
PEARSON,   DR.   WILLIAM    M. 

Des  Moines,  Iowa. 
PEREIRA,   THOMAS   M. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
PFENDER,   DR.   CHARLES   A. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
PRATT,   W.   S.,   JR. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
PRUDDEN,    DR.   T.   MITCHELL 

New  York  City. 
PUTZ,   DR.   WILLIAM   EDWARD 

Chicago,  111. 
RAKER,   HON.   JOHN   E.,    M.   C, 

W^ashington,  D.  C. 
RANSOME,  DR.  FREDERICK  LESLIE 

Washington,  D.  C. 
REESIDE,   FRANK   P. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
RICHARDSON,   DR.   CHARLES   W. 

Washington,  D.  C 
RICHMOND,  CHARLES  W. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
RIESMAxN,    DR.    DAVID 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
ROBERTSON,  MISS  GEORGIA 

Washington,  D.  C. 


RUDOLPH,    HON.   CUNO   H. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
RUSSELL,   F.   F.,   Col.,  A.  M.  C, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
SAILER,    DR.   JOSEPH 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
SCHREIBER,    DR.   HENRY   R. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
SCHROEDER,    DR.   E.   C. 

Bethesda,  Md. 
SEARS,   DR.   GEORGE   G. 

Boston,  Mass. 
SEWALL,    DR.   HENRY 

Denver,  Colo. 
SHANDELLE,  REV.  H.  J.,  S.  J., 

Washington,  D.  C. 
SHATTUCK,  DR.  FREDERICK  C. 

Boston,  Mass. 
SHAW,   DR.   C.   E. 

Williamsport,  Pa. 
SHEA,   CYRIL   E. 

W'ashington,  D.  C. 
SHOOK,  DR.  F.  M. 

Oakland,  Calif. 
SKINNER,   DR.   J.   O. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
SMITH,   DR.   HUGH   M. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
SOLLMANN,   DR.   TORALD   H. 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 
SOLOMON,   HARRY  C. 

Boston,  Mass. 
SOWERS,    DR.   WILLIAM   F.   M. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
SPIER,   GEORGE   W. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
STEINER,   DR.   WALTER   R. 

Hartford,  Conn. 
STERNBERG,    MRS.   GEORGE   M. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
STOCKMAN,  DR.  FRANK  J. 

Chicago,  111. 
STOCKTON,   DR.   CHARLES  G. 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
TEWKSBURY,    DR.   W.    D. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
THORNLEY,   DR.   ROY  A. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
TONDORF,   REV.   F.   A.,  S.  J., 

Washington,  D.  C. 
TRASK,  DR.  JOHN  W.,  U.  S.  P.  H.  S., 

Washington,  D.  C. 
UFFORD,    DR.   WALTER  S. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


ANNIVERSARY   COMMITTEE 


UNIVERSITY  OF   PITTSBURGH 
Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

VAN   SCHAICK,    DR.   JOHN,  JR.. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

VAUGHAN,   DR.   GEORGE   TULLY 
Washington,  D.  C. 

VAUGHAN,    DR.   VICTOR   C. 
Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 

VOGEL,   THOMAS  A. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

WALCOTT,    DR.   CHARLES   D. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

WALKER,    DR.   REGINALD 
Washington,  D.  C. 

WASHINGTON  UNIVERSITY 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

WELCH,  DR.  WILLIAM  H. 
Baltimore,  Md. 

WELLS,  DR.  WALTER  A., 
Washington,  D.  C. 

WHIPPLE,    PROF.   GEORGE   H. 
Boston,  Mass. 

WHITE,   DR.   WILLIAM   CHARLES 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

WILEY,    DR.   HARVEY   W. 
Washington,  D.  C. 


WILLIAMS,   DR.   FRANCIS  H. 
Boston,  Mass. 

WILLOUGHBY,   WILLIAM   F. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

WILMER,   DR.   WILLIAiM    H. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
WILSON,   GEORGE  S. 

Washington,  D.  C. 
WILSON,   DR.   JAMES   C. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
WILSON,   DR.   LOUIS   B. 

Rochester,  Minn. 
WOLF,   HON.   SIMON 

Washington,  D.  C. 

WOLLENBERG,   DR.   R.   A.   C. 
Detroit,  Mich. 

WOODWARD,   DR.   ROBERT  S. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

WOODWARD,    DR.   WILLIAM   C. 

Boston,  Mass. 

WiJRDEMAN,   DR.   H.   V. 

Seattle,  Wash. 
ZEHNER,  HARRY 

Washington,  D.  C. 
ZYCHOWICZ,    DR.   JOHN   F. 

Scranton,  Pa. 


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THIS  NUMBER   IS  PRINTED  IN   HONOR  OF 


THE  70th  ANNIVERSARY 


OF 


DR.  GEORGE  M.  KOBER 

Associate  Editor  of  this  Journal 


BY  HIS 


FRIENDS  AND  ASSOCIATES 


MARCH— 1920 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  DR.   GEORGE  M.   KOBER 

The  story  of  Dr.  Kober's  life  falls  into  three  periods,  the  period  of  his  Army  activities, 
his  period  as  teacher,  practitioner  and  scientific  investigator,  and  the  period  of  his  social 
activities  as  philanthropist. 

Dr.  George  Martin  Kober,  the  son  of  Jacob  and  Dorothea  {Behr)  Kober,  was  born  at 
Alsfeld,  Hessen-Darmstadt,  Germany,  on  March  28,  1850.  He  received  his  early 
education  at  the  public  and  grand-ducal  Realschule  of  his  native  town,  and  emigrated, 
at  the  age  of  seventeen,  from  Germany  to  the  United  States  in  1867.  Shortly  after  his 
arrival  he  entered  the  Hospital  Corps  of  the  United  States  Army  at  Carlisle  Barracks, 
Penna.  In  January,  1870,  he  was  appointed  hospital  steward  and  ordered  to  Frank- 
ford  Arsenal,  where  he  remained  until  September  1871,  when  he  was  ordered  to  the 
Surgeon  General's  Office,  Washington,  D.  C.  During  this  period  his  preceptors  were 
Dr.  J.  J.  B.  Wright,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Dr.  Robert  B.  Burns,  Philadelphia.  In  the  fall  of 
1871,  he  entered  the  Medical  Department  of  Georgetown  University  where  he  came  under 
the  instruction  of  such  physicians  as  Drs.  Johnson  Eliot,  Noble  Young,  S.  C.  Busey, 
Francis  A.  Ashford  and  Robert  Reyburn,  and  received  his  medical  degree  in  March, 
1873.  The  following  winter,  he  was  the  first  graduate  from  a  post  graduate  course 
instituted  at  Columbia  Hospital,  D.  C.  In  the  spring  of  the  year,  in  opposition  to  the 
proposal  to  establish  a  German  dispensary,  he  helped  to  reorganize  the  "Central  Dis- 
pensary" with  a  special  German-speaking  staff.  During  these  three  years,  he  ivas  serving 
as  a  hospital  steward  detailed  in  a  clerical  capacity  in  the  Surgeon  General's  Office,  where 
he  rendered  valuable  aid  to  Dr.  Billings  in  indexing  and  classifying  titles  in  German 
medical  periodicals.  In  July,  1874,  he  was  appointed  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  in  the 
United  States  Army,  remaining  on  duty  in  this  capacity  until  November,  1886.  During 
this  period,  he  was  Post  Surgeon  at  Alcatraz  Island,  California,,  July  to  November, 
1874;  post  surgeon  at  Fort  McDermit,  Nevada,  up  to  July,  1877,  during  which  time  he 
took  part  in  the  southeastern  Nevada  expedition  against  hostile  Indians  in  the  fall  of 
1875,  and  in  the  Nez-Perce  expedition  {1877);  from  July  to  October,  1877,  he  was  in 
charge  of  the  field  hospital  at  Kamiah  on  tlie  Clearwater,  Idaho;  ivas  subsequently  post 
surgeon  at  camp  near  Spokane  Falls  and  Fort  Coeur  d'Alene  to  November,  1878-1879, 
Fort  Klamath,  Oregon,  to  June,  1880,  and  Fort  Bidwell,  California,  to  November  1886. 
In  post  orders  No.  104,  relieving  him  from  duty  at  the  latter  station  in  November,  1886, 
the  post  adjutant  states: 

"In  recognition  of  the  long  and  faithful  professional  services  rendered  to  the  govern- 
ment during  the  past  twelve  years  in  the  field  in  pursuit  of  hostile  Indians  and  at  various 
posts,  the  commanding  officer  cannot  part  unth  him  without  some  expression  of  his  feel- 
ings of  regret,  as  part  of  this  sendee  was  rendered  under  his  immediate  command. 

"  His  devotion  to  his  professional  duties  has  been  warmly  recognized  not  only  by  this 
commanding  officer,  but  by  others  and  has  stamped  him  as  one  of  the  most  skillful  sur- 
geons in  the  U.  S.  Army." 

While  at  Fort  Bidwell,  he  was  also  engaged  in  medical  practice  among  the  ciinlian 
population,  remaining  at  this  station  until  June,  1887,  when  he  traveled  extensively  iii 
America  and  Europe,  returning  to  Fort  Bidwell  the  following  year,     hi  the  fall  of  1889 


IV  BIOGRAPHIC    SKETCH    OF    DR.    GEORGE    M.    KOBER 

he  settled  again  in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  in  1889  was  appointed  Professor  of  State 
Medicine  in  Georgetown  Medical  College.  In  August,  1890,  he  was  honorary  secretary 
of  the  Section  of  Medical  Geography  and  History  in  the  10th  International  Congress.  In 
December,  1890,  he  returned  to  Fort  Bidwell,  where  he  engaged  again  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  and  where  on  June  1,  1893,  he  became  once  more  Attending  Surgeon  at  the  post. 

During  his  army  period,  he  became  keenly  interested  in  the  physical  anthropology 
of  the  North  American  Indians,  which  gave  him  a  natural  interest  in  the  work  of  anthropo- 
logical societies.  At  the  suggestion  of  Lieut.  Colonel  George  A.  Otis,  Curator  of  the 
Army  Medical  Museum,  he  sent  to  Professor  Rudolf  Virchow  a  collection  of  Indian 
crania  ivhich  are  described  in  Virchow' s  "Crania  Ethnica  Americana." 

In  the  fall  of  1893,  Dr.  Kober  returned  to  Washington  where  he  has  since  been  one  of 
the  most  prominent  physicians  in  the  city,  hi  1889,  he  became  president  of  the  Medical 
and  Surgical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  has  been  Dean  of  the  Medical 
Department  of  the  Georgetown  University  since  1901.  He  was  also  president  of  the 
Medical  Association  of  the  District  of  Columbia  in  1898,  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  in  1903,  of  the  Association  of  American  Medical  Colleges  in  1907, 
of  the  National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis  in  1915  and 
of  the  Washington  Sanitary  Improvement  Coynpany  since  1916.  He  has  been  three 
times  president  of  the  Anthropological  Society  of  Washington,  in  1906-7, 1918-19,  and 
1919-20,  He  was  president  of  the  section  on  industrial  and  occupational  hygiene  of 
the  15th  International  Congress  on  Hygiene  and  Demography,  chairman  of  the  sub-sec- 
tion on  sociological  medicine  at  the  Second  Pan-American  Scientific  Congress  {1916) 
and  is  an  honorary  member  of  the  Association  of  American  Physicians  and  also  of  the 
Association  of  Military  Surgeons.  Dr.  Kober  is  a  member  of  the  advisory  council  of 
the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  fellow  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  member  of  the  Cosmos  Club,  Vice  President  of  the  Washington 
Academy  of  Sciences,  Vice  President  of  the  Board  of  Charities  and  President  of  the 
local  Social  Hygienic  Association. 

During  his  long  and  useful  life.  Dr.  Kober  has  written  several  medical  books  and 
over  340  journal  articles  in  the  American  periodicals.  His  first  contributions  to  medicine 
were  an  essay  on  Infantile  Paralysis  ,  published  in  the  Pacific  Medical  Journal  in 
November,  1874,  and  a  small  100-page  book  on  Urinology,  reprinted  from  the  Rich- 
mond and  Louisville  Medical  Journal,  1874,  xviii.  This  was  followed  by  treatises 
on  Milk  in  Relation  to  Public  Health  {1902),  Industrial  and  Personal  Hygiene 
{1908),  Water  Supply  {1908),  House  Sanitation  and  in  1916  his  ardent  labors  for 
the  improvement  of  the  hygiene  of  occupations  were  brought  to  a  focus  in  his  treatise 
upon  Diseases  of  Occupation  and  Vocational  Hygiene,  which  he  edited  with  Dr. 
William  C.  Hanson.  This  treatise  is  also  of  considerable  interest  to  anthropology. 
His  contributions  to  the  periodical  literature  of  medicine  and  related  sciences  are 
of  the  most  varied  character,  covering  such  themes  as  the  Medical  Geography, 
Diseases  and  Climate  of  Surprise  and  Goose  Lake  Valleys,  California,  1886, 
the  Relation  of  Soil  and  Water  to  Health  and  Disease  {1894-96),  the  Place  of 
Military  Medicine  and  Surgery  in  Ordinary  Medical  Education  {1897),  the  Effect 
of  Modern  Firearms  in  War  {1899).  the  Canteen  {1903),  his  study  of  330  out- 
breaks of  milk-borne  diseases  {1901),  his  long  report  on  butter  and  butter  substitutes 
{1902),  two  notable  papers  on  the  progress  and  achievements  of  public  hygiene  {1897), 
and  the  history  of  hygiene  in  the  19th  century  {1901).  In  1875,  he  published  notes  on 
treatment  of  chronic  dysentery  with  potassium  chlorate  lotion  and  of  tubercular  adenitis 


BIOGRAPHIC    SKETCH    OF    DR.    GEORGE   M.    KOBER  V 

with  injeclions  of  carbolic  add  and  glycerine.  In  October  1876,  he  described  an  important 
case  of  recovery  from  gunshot  injuries  of  knee  joint  which  had  been  treated  with  antiseptic 
injections  of  iodine  and  carbolic  acid.  Dr.  Kober  icas  also  one  of  the  earliest  to  emphasize 
the  importance  of  flies  as  transmitters _  of  disease  {1892)  and  in  his  report  on  typhoid 
fever  in  the  District  of  Columhia  {1895),  he  definitely  located  the  fact  of  fly  transmission 
in  connection  inth  a  house  epidemic  of  typhoid  from  box  privies. 

During  the  last  25  years  of  his  life.  Dr.  Kober  has  not  been  engaged  in  the  actual 
practice  of  medicine  and  has  devoted  his  attention  to  work  in  public  hygiene,  social 
welfare,  and  anthropology.  His  demonstration  of  the  transmission  of  typhoid  fever  by 
flies  in  a  local  epidemic,  an  investigation  mxide  at  the  request  of  the  Health  Officer,  D.  C, 
was  the  starting  point  of  these  activities.  By  public  addresses  and  by  individual  re- 
searches into  the  relative  merits  of  sand  and  mechanical  filtering  of  water,  he  did  much  to 
secure  proper  legislation  and  appropriations  from  Congress  in  aid  of  a  proper  water 
supply  and  sewage  system  for  the  District  of  Columbia.  His  tabulation  of  3S0  milk- 
borne  epidemics  {1901),  his  UTitings  on  induMrial  hygiene,  particularity  on  the  effects 
of  diminished  atmosphere  upon  the  health  of  aviators  {1916)  and  his  very  active  labors  in 
aid  of  securing  better  housing  for  the  working  classes  in  Washington  are  all  in  the  same 
trend.  As  a  inember  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Associated  Charities,  he  became 
interested  in  the  removal  of  slums  and  the  improvement  of  habitations  for  people  in  less 
than  moderate  circumstances.  Thus  he  was  one  of  the  principal  promoters  of  the  Wash- 
ington Sanitary  Housing  Companies,  organized  in  1897  and  1904,  which  have  provided 
sanitary  homes  at  reasonable  rentals  for  over  800  wage-earners  and  their  families.  This 
work  lead  to  further  improvements  in  sanitary  housing  in  the  District  and  in  other  cities 
and  Dr.  Kober  had  the  gratification  of  receiving  the  award  of  a  gold  medal  at  the  Paris 
International  Exposition  in  1900  in  appreciation  of  these  activities.  His  report  on 
housing  of  the  laboring  classes  was  published  in  the  same  year  {1900),  and  his  history 
of  the  housing  movement  in  the  city  of  Washington  in  1907. 

Dr.  Kober  also  designed  the  Tuberculosis  Hospital  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
was  awarded  a  Medal  at  the  Exposition  connected  with  the  Sixth  International  Congress 
on  Tuberculosis,  held  in  Washington,  September  28th  to  October  5th,  1908.  In  the  same 
year  he  was  also  a  Member  of  President  Roosevelt's  Homes  Commission,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  his  Monograph  on  Industrial  and  Personal  Hygiene,  prepared  a  Report  on  Social 
Betterment  containing  among  other  articles  a  plea  for  the  prevention  of  permanent  dis- 
abilities in  childhood. 

Dr.  Kober's  life  has  been  one  of  untiring  labor,  of  devotion  to  duty,  of  loyalty  and 
gratitude  to  his  adopted  country,  of  many-sided  interests,  of  obstacles  triumpfiantly 
overcome.  The  essential  trait  in  his  life  history  has  been  a  sincere  interest  in  the  public 
good.  In  the  city  of  his  adoption  he  has  been  identified  with  almost  every  movement 
which  has  had  to  do  with  social  hygiene  and  the  well-being  of  his  fellowtnen.  A  public- 
spirited  man  in  the  truest  sense,  he  has  been  one  whose  approaches  have  always  been 
accessible  where  any  enterprise  of  social  moment  had  to  be  carried  through.  People  come 
to  him  naturally  for  help  of  this  kind.  What  he  has  done  has  been  accomplished  not 
reluctantly  or  for  self-advertisement,  but  unobtrusively  and  with  a  good-natured  disre- 
gard for  the  demands  made  upon  his  time. 

In  anthropology,  his  chief  interests  have  been  in  demography,  racial  pathology,  and 
somatology.  His  publications  give  no  adequate  idea  of  his  interest  in  these  lines;  but 
this  has  found  appreciation  in  his  repeated  election  to  the-  presidency  of  the  local  anthropo- 
logical society,  in  addition  to  which  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  Organizing  Committee 


VI  BIOGRAPHIC    SKETCH    OF    DR.    GEORGE    M.    KOBER 

of  the  Nineteenth  International  Congress  of  Americanists  and  as  a  member  of  the  first 
Committee  on  Anthropology  of  the  National  Research  Council.  Besides  which  he  has 
been  one  of  the  Associate  Editors  of  the  American  Journal  of  Physical  Anthropol- 
ogy, since  the  establishment  of  the  Journal. 

That  the  beneficent  activities  of  Dr.  Kober  may  be  continued  far  beyond  the  scriptural 
span  of  life  is  the  hope  and  wish  of  his  many  friends. 


American  Journal  of  Physical 
Anthropology 

Volume  III  JANUARY-MARCH,  1920  Number  1 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  NEGRITOS  OF  THE  PHILIPPINE 

ISLANDS 

PHILIP   NEWTOX,   M.D. 
Assistant  Professor  of  Anatomy,  Georgetown  University 

FROM   THE   DIVISION   OF   PHYSICAL   ANTHROPOLOGY,    U.    S.    NATIONAL    MUSEUM 

editor's  note. 

Dr.  Newton's  work  on  the  Negrito  forms  a  part  of  the  anthropologi- 
cal investigations  carried  on  in  1912-14  under  the  writer's  direction 
for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  Panama-California  Exposition 
(1914-15).  A  brief  note  of  these  investigations  was  published  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  1916,  II,  32-37. 
Their  main  object  was,  besides  the  gathering  of  original  material  for 
the  anthropological  exhibits  of  the  Exposition  (now  housed  in  the 
San  Diego  Museum),  the  initiation  of  a  study  of  the  child  among 
various  primitive  human  groups.  Together  with  the  child,  however, 
it  was  necessary  to  examine  as  large  series  as  obtainable  of  the  adults 
in  order  to  establish  suitable  basis  of  comparison,  and  the  present 
report  of  Dr.  Newton  deals  with  his  observations  on  the  adult  Negrito. 
Detailed  measurements  and  data,  including  those  on  the  75  Negrito 
children  that  could  be  examined,  will  be  published  in  the  future. 

Dr.  Newton's  letter  of  transmittal  of  his  report  seems  interesting 
enough  to  be  included  with  his  article.  It  follows  below.  It  may  only 
be  mentioned  in  addition  that  Dr.  Newton  was  selected  for  the  diffi- 
cult task  of  a  study  of  the  Negritos  not  only  as  a  medical  man  and 
anatomist,  but  also  for  his  prolonged  previous  activities  in  the  Philip- 
pines. 

1 

Amer.  Jouii,  Phv8.  Anthrop.,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1 


I  PHILIP   NEWTON  , 

Lelier  of  Transmittal 

Washington,  D.  C, 
October  22,  1912. 
Dr.  Ale§  HrdliCka, 

Curator,  Division  of  Physical  Anthropology, 
United  States  National  Museum. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  report  as  follows  on  my  trip  to  the  Philippine  Islands: 

I  left  Wasliington  on  May  5,  1912,  and  arrived  at  Manila  June  4.  Returning, 
I  left  Manila  on  September  15,  and  arrived  in  Washington  October  22,  1912. 

I  was  in  the  Philippine  Islands  103  days.  Of  this  time  65  days  were  spent  in 
actual  field  work.  The  remaining  time  was  unavoidedly  lost  in  ManUa  on  account 
of  storms  and  an  attack  of  dengue  fever. 

Measurements:  More  than  one  thousand  negritos  were  seen.  Of  this  number, 
over  400  were  measured  and  carefullj^  observed.  Practically  all  of  the  piu-e-bloods 
that  could  be  found  were  measured,  with  about  50  mixed-bloods.  These  mixed- 
bloods  were  mostly  a  cUvision  of  the  negrito  called  Bataks,  Uving  on  the  Island  of 
Palawan.  They  have  sometimes  been  considered  a  separate  strain,  but  actually 
represent  only  another  admixture  of  the  negritos  with  Malay  blood. 

Among  the  pure-bloods  the  male  adults  and  near  adults  numbered  190,  the  fe- 
male 83,  the  children  of  both  sexes  75.  The  excess  of  men  over  women  and  children 
is  accounted  for  as  follows:  The  men  would  frequently  travel  long  distances  to  meet 
me  when  it  was  impossible  for  myself  to  cover  their  territory.  On  these  occasions 
very  few  women  and  children  accompanied  them.  In  addition,  the  number  of 
children  per  family  among  the  negritos  is  surprisingly  small. 

Photographs:  Films  of  any  kind  are  absolute  failures  for  tropical  field  work.  This 
•rtII  be  readily  understood  if  it  is  remembered  that  a  film  must  be  developed  within 
one  week  from  the  day  it  is  taken  from  the  tin  in  the  tropics,  and  that  films  require 
a  developing  bath  with  a  temperature  not  over  80°  F.  There  was  no  ice  to  be  had 
in  the  field,  and  the  water  was  always  warmer  than  80°.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
was  impossible  to  get  the  films  to  Manila  within  the  week  Umit.  For  this  reason, 
almost  sixty  per  cent  of  the  films  spoiled.  Three  hundred  pictures  were  taken. 
Most  of  these  were  taken  in  the  open  and  in  the  rain.  The  best  results  were  ob- 
tained in  Palawan  among  the  Bataks,  where  ice  was  obtained  within  the  week  Umit. 
Seventj^-two  good  pictures  were  ruined  when  my  boat  was  upset  in  the  Cagayan 
River  during  a  severe  storm. 

Plaster  Casts:  Sixteen  attempts  were  made  to  seciu-e  casts,  but  they  were  all 
failures.  Like  the  photographs,  most  of  these  were  made  in  the  open  and  in  the  rain. 
One  hundred  pounds  of  the  best  dental  plaster  was  taken  by  me  from  the  United 
States.  This  was  packed  in  supposedly  airtight  cans,  but  when  it  was  opened  it 
had  either  absorbed  moisture,  or  else  absorbed  a  large  quantity  in  a  very  few  moments, 
because  it  had  neither  the  feel  nor  look  that  it  should  have  had.  A  can  of  plaster 
was  purchased  in  Manila,  but  this  yielded  no  better  results.  I  was  informed  by 
several  physicians  that  plaster  was  little  used  for  fracture-casts  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  on  account  of  the  great  difficulty  in  keeping  it  dry. 

In  several  cases  the  plaster  was  given  an  hour  to  set,  but  the  masks  always  broke 
when  being  removed.  Casts  were  made  twice  as  thick  as  ordinary,  but  even  these 
were  failures.  I  beUeve  that  plaster  can  be  satisfactorily  handled  only  during  the 
dry  season  when  the  air  is  not  saturated  with  moisture. 


NEGRITOS    OF   THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS  6 

Skeletal  Matenal:  The  negrito  will  not  willingly  part  wdth  the  remains  of  his  dead, 
and  this  part  of  the  work  was  very  difficult.  In  addition  to  the  opposition  on  the 
part  of  the  negritos,  the  graves  themselves  are  widely  separated  and  in  the  most 
out-of-the-way  places.  When  found  they  must  be  opened  at  night  to  escape  the 
watchfulness  of  the  negritos.  As  it  rained  practically  every  night  tliis  work  was  done 
under  the  most  adverse  circumstances. 

Twelve  graves  were  opened — the  locations  of  seven  were  given  by  a  half-breed — , 
three  were  discovered  by  me  on  my  travels,  and  two  more  were  located  by  a  Fihpino. 
The  locations  of  seven  more  graves  became  kno-^vTi  to  me,  but  I  could  not  open  them 
on  account  of  the  negritos'  watchfulness. 

Of  the  twelve  graves  opened,  but  one  yielded  results.  From  this  a  skull,  part  of 
a  femur,  and  some  vertebrae  were  obtained.  This  body  had  been  in  the  ground  less 
than  six  months.  In  the  case  of  the  other  bodies,  which  had  been  in  the  ground  from 
one  to  six  years,  the  bones  were  all  in  the  last  stages  of  decay  and  nothing  of  value 
could  be  saved.  -This  rapid  decay  is  accounted  for  by  me  as  follows:  Many  of  the 
mountainous  regions  have  a  great  deal  of  Ume  in  their  geological  makeup;  the  negrito 
body  is  buried  only  about  two  feet  deep,  and  without  any  form  of  covering,  wliich 
allows  both  the  surface  heat  and  surface  water  to  attack  it  very  rapidly. 

Weather:  The  months  of  my  stay  in  the  PhiUppines  proved,  accidentally  to  be 
the  worst  ones  of  the  entire  year.  It  rained  every  single  day  and  typhoons  were 
ntmaerous.  The  negritos  have  no  houses,  consequently  most  of  the  work  had  to  be 
done  in  the  open.  Travel  was  very  difficult  during  tliis  rainy  season,  the  mud  fre- 
quently measuring  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  depth. 

Food  and  Payments:  All  the  food  used  by  me  had  to  be  carried  with  me.  Lilce- 
wise,  to  secure  the  good  will  of  the  negritos,  I  had  to  feed  them.  This  item  of  rice 
for  the  negritos,  with  its  transportation,  was  expensive.  No  cash  payments  were 
made,  the  negritos  being  satisfied  with  food,  a  few  beads,  red-cloth,  and  tobacco. 

Data:  The  negritos  answered  freely  all  questions  they  could  understand.  No 
information  as  to  their  number,  births  and  deaths,  etc.,  could  be  obtained  from  the 
Philippine  Government  for  the  simple  reason  that  they  had  none.  The  negrito  has 
no  unit  of  time,  so  knew  nothing  of  his  age;  all  ages  therefore  are  approximate  only. 

Expenses:  The  expenses  of  the  trip  were  higher  than  expected.  The  bad  weather 
greatly  increased  the  cost  of  travel.  The  fear  of  the  average  Filipino  for  the  negritos' 
poisoned  arrows  made  guides  and  porters  expensive.  The  deaths  from  surra,  etc., 
of  large  numbers  of  horses  and  bulls  made  their  use  impossible  in  many  places  and 
very  expensive  in  others. 

General:  Both  wooden  and  metal  instruments  suffered  from  the  effects  of  mois- 
ture. The  wooden  instruments,  plate-holders,  camera,  etc.,  were  all  rendered  parti- 
ally unfit  for  service,  and  in  the  future  all  such  articles  should  be  made  of  some  non- 
oxidizing  metal,  if  they  are  to  be  used  in  the  tropics. 

Disease:  The  most  common  diseases  in  the  Pliilippines,  as  observed  by  me,  were 
malaria,  dengue,  dhobie's  itch,  and  insect  bites.  At  one  time  or  another  I  personally 
experienced  each  one.  I  also  suffered  very  much  from  an  attack  of  maxillary  sinu- 
sitis which  was  brought  on  by  the  constant  exposure  to  rain  and  nuid. 

The  accompanying  report  gives  the  results  of  my  observations. 

Very  respectfully, 
Philip  Newton,  M.D. 


PHILIP   NEWTON 


NEGRITOS    OF   THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS 


INTRODUCTION 

During  the  months  of  June,  July,  August,  and  September,  1912, 
the  writer  visited  the  representative  subdivisions  of  the  Negritos  in 
the  Philippine  Islands.  The  expedition  was  under  the  joint  auspices 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  Pan-American  Exposition  of 
San  Diego,  and  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  A.  Hrdlicka.  It  was  sent 
out  for  the  purpose  of  making  accurate  anthropometric  studies  of  the 
Negritos,  and  for  making  physiological  and  medical  observations 
among  them.  The  measurements  and  observations  are  those  regularly 
used  in  the  stud}^  of  other  races  by  the  Division  of  Physical  Anthro- 
pology of  the  United  States  National  Museum ;  the  methods  of  measur- 
ing were  essentially  those  of  the  Inter-national  Agreements. 

The  investigations  were  confined  as  nearly  as  possible  to  pure- 
bloods.  The  Bataks  of  Palawan,  who  are  probably  all  of  mixed  blood, 
are  placed  in  a  separate  series.  Subjects  showing  gross  pathological 
conditions  were  only  noted  in  the  medical  observations. 

The  provinces  visited  were  Bataan,  Zambales,  Pampanga,  Tarlac, 
Cagayan,  Isabela,  and  Palawan.  Of  these,  Bataan  was  found  to 
have  more  pure-bloods  than  any  of  the  other  localities.  The  Negritos 
of  Zambales  presented  many  signs  of  a  more  or  less  recent  admixture 
of  outside  blood.  The  Negritos  of  Cagayan  showed  also  a  wide- 
spread admixture  of  foreign  blood.  Among  the  Negritos  or  Bataks  of 
Palawan,  hardly  any  were  found  who  approached  the  pure-blood 
standard. 

No  objections  to  the  measurements  and  observations  were  made 
by  the  Negritos  after  they  understood  the  nature  of  the  work.  Owing, 
however,  to  the  low  order  of  intelligence  exhibited  in  general  by  these 
people,  various  questions  were  not  readily  comprehended,  so  that 
some  parts  of  the  investigation  became  necessarily  restricted.  In 
addition,  circumstances  did  not  permit  of  an  exhaustive  study  of 
certain  physiological  and  pathological  features  of  the  Negrito  life. 

The  pure-bloods,  regardless  of  locality,  were  found  to  be  physically 
of  the  same  type,  so  that  where  uninfluenced  by  other  races  the  Philip- 
pine Negrito  differs  only  in  language  and  some  minor  customs.  The 
introduction  of  foreign  blood  rapidly  changes  these  people  both 
physically  and  mentally;  and  a  contact  with  other  tribes,  produces 
readily  marked  changes  in  their  habits. 


PHILIP    NEWTON 


GENERAL    ENVIRONMENT 


Distribution:  The  Negrito  is  found  on  the  islands  of  Luzon,  Negros, 
Mindanao,  Palawan,  Panaj^,  Alabat,  and  Tablas.  The  greatest 
numbers  live  on  Luzon. 

This  wide  distribution,  coupled  with  fact  that  the  Negritos  are  not 
travelers  (except  on  their  own  ranges),  and  that  they  do  not  possess 
physical  qualities  that  might  fit  them  for  invaders,  suggest  that  they 
were  more  numerous  in  these  regions  in  the  past  and  that  they  prob- 
ably preceded  the  other  aborigines  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Much  of  the  combined  area  of  the  Philippines  is  mountainous,  and 
on  those  islands  where  the  Negritos  live,  they  are  found,  for  the 
most  part,  in  the  highlands.  Whether  they  were  originally  mountain 
people  or  not  is  unknown,  but  if  they  ever  inhabited  any  of  the  low- 
lands, they  have  long  since  been  crowded  out.  Quite  likely  the 
mountains  represent  their  last  stand,  where  they  endeavor  as  much 
as  possible  to  live  by  themselves.  Those  now  found  in  the  lowlands 
have  evidently  come  there  quite  recently;  thej^  are  as  a  rule  dependents 
on  some  of  the  Philippino  settlements. 

Elevation:  The  elevation  of  the  areas  inhabited  by  the  Negritos 
varies  from  500  to  2,000  feet,  or  more.  Their  habitations  are  always 
found  near  mountain  streams  or  small  rivers.  They  prefer  the  wooded 
parts  of  the  country  where  they  are  better  secreted.  Those  not  af- 
fected by  outside  influences  stay  in  the  mountains. 

Climate:  The  climate  of  those  parts  of  the  Philippine  Islands  that 
are  occupied  by  the  Negrito  is,  notwithstanding  the  elevation,  with 
the  exception  of  the  highest  mountains,  tropical.  In  the  settlements 
of  the  northern  half  of  the  Archipelago  rains  and  storms  are  almost 
continuous  from  June  to  September.  From  October  to  February 
the  weather  is  generally  cooler,  with  little  rain.  From  March  to 
June  the  weather  where  they  live  is  hot  and  dry. 

Water  Supply:  The  sources  of  water  of  the  Negritos  comprise 
springs,  mountain  streams,  and  small  rivers.  They  make  no  wells  or 
reservoirs.  The  drying  up  of  small  streams  during  the  hot  season 
affects  the  Negritos  but  little,  as  they  are  continually  moving  about. 

The  water  is  carried  from  its  source  to  the  family  shelter  in  bamboo 
poles  three  to  seven  feet  long,  from  which  all  septa  except  the  bottom 
one  have  been  removed.  Such  a  tube  is  easily  carried,  and  will  re- 
tain the  water  for  several  hours.  Shorter  pieces  are  used  for  drinking 
cups. 


NEGRITOS    OF    THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS  7 

The  water  of  the  springs  and  smaller  mountain  streams  is  usually- 
clear,  but  the  larger  streams  and  rivers  were  found  muddy.  In  north- 
ern Luzon  several  hot  springs  were  seen,  the  water  of  which  was 
charged  with  mineral  substances,  including  sulphur,  and  some  of  these 
are  visited  for  curative  purposes  b}^  the  Filipinos,  but  no  use  is  made 
of  them  by  the  Negritos. 

Flora:  The  vegetation  of  the  regions  occupied  by  the  Negrito  is  of 
much  variety,  but  include  only  a  few  plants  and  trees  which  are  made 
use  of  by  these  people.  In  several  places  visited  by  the  writer  the 
Negritos  were  seen  to  be  used  by  the  whites  and  Filipinos  to  help 
fell  the  trees  and  get  them  to  the  rivers,  where  they  were  floated  to 
the  mills.  Bejuco,  or  rattan,  is  cut  b}^  the  Negritos  and  used  in 
making  their  shelters,  as  well  as  trade  for  cloth,  knives,  and  alcoholic 
drinks.  The  bamboo  is  used  in  making  the  shelters,  and  for  water 
vessels  and  arrows.  Bananas,  mangos,  cocoanuts,  and  other  kinds 
of  tropical  fruits,  found  in  many  localities,  form,  with  certain  edible 
roots,  a  large  part  of  the  Negrito  diet.  The  Bataks  use  the  bark  of 
the  "bago"  tree  for  their  breech-cloths.  In  one  place  the  Negritos 
knew  orchids  had  a  commercial  value,  and  frequently  traded  two 
varieties  for  articles  of  small  cost.  Hardly  any  use  is  made  of  plants 
medicinally  by  the  Negrito. 

Fauna:  The  animals  of  the  forests  are  of  importance  to  the  Negritos 
because  they  furnish  part  of  their  diet.  Small  deer,  wild  hogs,  wild 
birds,  monkeys,  lizards,  and  other  small  animals,  are  all  killed  and 
eaten.  The  methods  of  killing  vary  with  the  amount  of  outside  in- 
fluence that  has  affected  the  particular  group  of  Negritos.  In  some 
regions  (Bataan  and  Zambaleg)  nets  are  used  in  the  deer-hunt.  The 
animals  are  driven  into  these  and  then  killed  with  arrows;  but  in 
other  regions  the  use  of  nets  is  unknown.  In  northern  Luzon  the 
Negritos  use  poisoned  arrows.  Analysis  of  the  poison  was  impossible 
in  the  field,  and  little  information  could  be  obtained  from  either  the 
Negritos  or  the  Insular  Government  as  to  its  nature.  The  symptoms 
exhibited  by  a  deer  when  shot  with  such  an  arrow  resemble  those  of 
strychnine  poisoning,  so  that  probably  the  substance  is  of  the  nature 
of  curare. 

Honey  bees  are  abundant  in  some  localities,  and  the  Negritos 
gather  considerable  quantities  of  their  product.  The  bees  are  smoked 
out,  the  wax  and  honey  extracted  in  a  mass  and  the  honey  strained 
through  a  soiled  cloth  into  bamboo  tubes. 

Insects  and  Reptiles:  In  the  forests  where  the  Negritos  live,  mosqui- 


8  PHILIP    NEWTON 

toes  are  so  numerous  during  the  rainy  season  that  white  men  visiting 
these  regions  must  make  a  continuous  fight  against  the  pest.  The 
mosquito  bite,  however,  appfears  to  cause  a  much  lesser  reaction  in 
the  Negrito  than  in  the  white.  The  Negrito's  body,  owing  to  the 
absence  of  clothing,  offers  a  large  area  for  mosquito  attack,  and  there 
is  little  if  any  immunity  to  such  attacks,  but  many  bites  seem  to  cause 
little  irritation.  A  number  of  varieties  of  mosquitoes  were  observed, 
including  the  A7iopheles  and  Stegomyia. 

Fleas  are  very  numerous.  So  are  centipedes.  The  bite  of  the 
latter  causes  a  sharp  reaction,  but  apparently  is  never  dangerous  to 
life. 

Snakes  are  not  as  numerous  in  the  Negrito  country  as  they  are  in 
other  tropical  lands,  nevertheless  a  large  number  of  varieties,  some  of 
which  are  poisonous,  have  been  classified.  Several  cobras  and  other 
snakes  were  seen  by  the  writer,  but  no  recent  deaths  among  the 
Negritos  from  snake  bite  could  be  learned  of. 

NEGRITO    POPULATION 

The  last  census  of  the  Insular  Government  gives  the  total  number  of 
the  Negritos  at  about  25,000.  This  number  includes  many  thousands 
of  mixed  bloods.  Just  how  many,  no  one  knows.  The  writer's 
estimate  of  the  total  number  of  pure-bloods,  outside  of  the  unknown 
territory  in  northwestern  Luzon,  would  be  below  5,000.  Accurate 
figures  can  scarcely  be  hoped  for,  for  the  reason  that  the  Negritos  are 
ordinarily  located  in  wild,  inaccessible  regions,  over  which  they  are 
widely  scattered  in  small  groups.  Nine  Negrito  districts,  with  a 
total  estimated  population  of  about  7,000,  were  visited  by  the  writer. 

Vital  statistics  concerning  the  Negrito,  such  as  the  death  rate, 
birth  rate,  proportion  of  sexes,  etc.,  were  not  obtainable  from  the 
Insular  Government.  Personal  investigation  of  these  subjects  were 
carried  on  as  far  as  circumstances  permitted,  but  the  possibilities 
were  quite  limited. 

SUBDIVISIONS    OF    THE    NEGRITOS 

The  Negritos,  as  known  from  previous  writers,^  are  subdivided  into 
a  number  of  groups  bearing  distinct  names,  but  these  groups  are  so  far 

1  Meyer,  A.  B.  The  distribution  of  the  Negritos  in  the  PliiHppine  Islands  and 
elsewhere.  8°,  Dresden,  1899.  Virchow,  Rud.  The  peopling  of  the  Philippines. 
An.  Rep.  Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington,  1899,  500-526.  Reed,  Wm.  A. 
Negritos  of  Zambales.  Ethnol.  Survey  Publ.,  Manila,  1904.  II,  Part  I,  90  pp., 
58  pi.  Worcester,  Dean  C.  Thenon-Christian  tribes  of  northern  Luzon.  Philippine 
J.  of  Set.,  Vol.  No.  8,  Manila,  Oct.,  1906. 


NEGRITOS    OF    THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS  9 

as  could  be  ascertained  purely  geographical;  physically,  and  in  the 
pure-bloods  no  marked  differences  were  observed  in  the  different 
regions.  Among  the  mixed-bloods,  the  differences  depended  upon  the 
origin  and  proportion  of  the  foreign  blood.  Variations  in  customs, 
habits,  dress,  and  language  appeared  to  be  due  largely  to  contact  and 
environment. 

The  Aetas  of  Bataan,  Zambales,  Tarlac,  and  Pampanga,  inhabit, 
in  scattered  bodies,  the  western  mountain  range  (Zambales  Moun- 
tains) of  Luzon,  from  the  Mariveles  Mountain,  in  southern  Luzon, 
as  far  north  as  the  northern  boundary  of  Tarlac  province.  A  large 
percentage  of  the  estimated  1,200  Aetas  of  the  Bataan  province  are 
of  a  fairly  pure  type.  They  are  found  in  small  numbers  at  varying 
distances  back  of  the  Filipino  towns  of  Mariveles,  Bagao,  Balanga, 
Orani,  Hermosa,  and  others.  The  best  types  for  study  were  those 
living  farthest  away  from  the  Filipino  towns,  where  outside  influences 
were  minimum.  The  foreign  blood  in  the  mixed  types  of  Bataan 
appeared  to  be  mostly  Tagalog. 

The  Aetas  of  Zambales  may  be  reached  by  traveling  north  or 
northwest  from  Hermosa,  in  Bataan,  from  Floridablanca,  in  Pamp- 
anga, or  from  Olongapo,  Subig,  and  Iba,  in  Zambales.  As  in  Bataan, 
the  Negritos  of  this  province  living  near  Filipino  towns  showed  con- 
siderably the  results  of  outside  influences.  The  percentage  of  mixed- 
bloods  was  considerably  larger  than  in  Bataan.  The  foreign  blood 
appeared  to  be  largely  Tagalog  and  Ilokano. 

The  Aetas  of  the  provinces  of  Pampanga  and  Tarlac  in  Luzon  were 
not  numerous,  and  a  large  percentage  of  them  were  plainly  of  the 
mixed-blood  types.  They  may  be  reached  by  traveling  west  from 
Floridablanca  in  the  province  of  Pampanga,  and  from  Tarlac,  in  the 
province  of  Tarlac. 

The  Attas  of  Cagayan  and  Isabela  provinces,  in  Luzon,  inhabit 
the  foothills  and  mountains  between  the  Cagayan  and  Ablug  Rivers, 
the  mountains  south  of  this  area  between  the  Kalinga  region  and  the 
Cagayan  River  and,  in  small  groups,  the  country  between  the  Cagayan 
River  and  the  Sierra  Madre  Mountains.  Little  information  could  be 
obtained  about  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Madre.  It  is  believed 
to  be  wholly  inhabited  by  Negritos.  If  such  is  the  case,  this  region 
would  undoubtedly  produce  the  most  characteristic  types  of  the 
people.  In  these  two  groups  of  Negritos  foreign  blood  appears  to 
have  had  several  sources,  including  Kalinga,  Cagayan,  Ilokano,  and 
Ilongot. 


10  PHILIP    NEWTON 

The  Bataks,  all  of  whom  apparently  are  mixed-bloods,  inhabit  the 
mountains  of  the  northern  half  of  the  island  of  Palawan.  They  were 
found  in  small  gi-oups  by  traveling  inland  from  the  coast  towns  of 
Babuyan,  Tinabog,  and  Tinitian.  The  whole  Batak  population  is 
estimated  at  less  than  500  individuals.  They  differ  from  the  pure- 
blood  tj^pe  of  Negrito.  Their  skins  are  lighter,  their  hair  is  wavy  or 
curly  rather  than  wooly,  the  facial  features  are  less  negroid,  and  the 
average  stature  is  greater.  They  resemble  the  Negrito  in  the  excess 
of  finger-reach  over  height,  low  foreheads,  thick  lips,  and  rather  flat 
wide  noses.  Their  average  stature  also,  although  superior  to  that  of 
the  pure-blood  Negrito,  is  still  below  that  of  the  neighboring  tribes. 
Their  foreign  blood  appears  to  have  come  largely  from  the  Tagbanuas. 
Several  individuals  exhibited  characteristic  Chinese  features. 

PERSONAL    ENVIRONMENT 

Clothing:  Negritos  uninfluenced  by  other  races  dress  ver}^  scantily; 
and  the  absence  of  sufficient  clothing  during  the  cooler  months  un- 
doubtedly accounts  among  them  for  certain  pathological  conditions. 
The  men  wear  a  breechcloth  only.  This  is  a  strip  of  cloth  about  six 
inches  wide  and  four  or  five  feet  long.  It  is  wrapped  once  around  the 
waist,  knotted  loosely  in  the  back,  the  two  ends  brought  forward 
between  the  thighs  and  tied  in  front  to  the  part  around  the  waist. 
The  women  wear  a  short  skirt  which  extends  from  the  waist  to  a 
little  above  the  knees.  The  skirt  is  a  simple  piece  of  cloth  of  variable 
width  and  about  five  or  six  feet  long.  It  is  wrapped  around  the  waist 
and  hips  and  tucked  in  at  the  waist.  The  children  go  naked  until 
about  the  sixth  year,  after  which  they  dress  like  their  parents. 

On  Negritos  living  near  the  Filipino  towns,  one  can  see  odd  gar- 
ments of  man}'  kinds.  They  vary  from  the  simple  breechcloths  to 
complete  multicolored  cotton  suits  with  native  hats.  One  of  the 
first  changes  made  by  the  Negrito  women  after  coming  into  contact 
with  a  higher  civilization  is  the  adoption  of  the  "camisa"  or  waist. 
With  the  adoption  of  this  garment,  the  women  assume  a  certain 
modesty  about  exposing  their  breasts.  This  delicacy  was  unknown 
among  the  Negritos  living  far  off  from  Filipino  villages,  where  the 
women  went  half  nude  and  readily  permitted  the  chest  measurements 
and  photographs  to  be  taken. 

Shoes,  sandals,  or  other  foot-coverings  were  not  observed  among 
the  Negritos,  even  where  mixed.  Hats  or  other  head-coverings  were 
not  used,  except  among  those  living  in  contact  with  civilization,  the 
heavy,  woolly,  matted  hair  affording  ample  protection. 


NEGRITOS    OF    THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS  11 

Hair-dressing  and  Other  Practices:  From  a  hygienic  standpoint, 
the  Negrito  method  of  wearing  the  hair  is  very  poor.  The  natural 
Negrito  hair  is  very  thick,  black  and  woolly.  It  grows  usually  to  a 
length  of  from  two  to  five  inches,  and  no  attention  is  given  it.  As 
a  result  it  becomes  foul,  matted,  and  more  or  less  filled  with  vermin. 

The  Aetas  of  Bataan  shave  in  a  crude  way,  with  a  bolo,  a  circular 
area,  about  two  inches  in  diameter,  in  the  upper  occipital  region, 
which  reminds  one  of  the  tonsura  of  the  Spanish  padres.  This  was 
observed  in  both  sexes,  and  the  reason  for  so  doing  was  given  as  a 
means  of  "letting  out  the  heat."  The  Bataks  of  Palawan  shave  the 
anterior  half  of  the  scalp,  from  a  line  connecting  the  external  auditory 
meati.  Both  sexes  are  thus  treated.  No  clear  explanation  of  the 
custom  could  be  obtained. 

A  very  common  custom  observed  among  the  Negritos  in  the  province 
of  Bataan  (Luzon)  was  that  of  ornamental  skin  scarring.  The  opera- 
tion is  performed  with  sharp  bamboo  instruments,  and  begins  about 
the  sixth  or  eight  year.  Both  sexes  are  ornamented.  Small  incisions 
are  made  through  the  skin  on  the  forearms,  arms,  back,  and  chest; 
in  the  female,  also  on  the  breasts,  abdomen,  and  thighs.  The  most 
common  design  is  that  of  a  series  of  short  parallel  lines,  converging 
to  a  point  with  another  series;  or  the  two  series  may  be  parallel.  Less 
common  is  a  design  of  five  short  incisions  in  the  form  of  a  star.  Several 
operations  are  performed  in  the  case  of  large  ornamentations.  The 
wounds  commonly  become  infected  and  heal  with  the  formation  of 
an  elevated,  light-colored  scar. 

The  above  custom  was  observed  only  in  Bataan.  In  addition,  the 
Negritos  of  Bataan,  in  common  with  those  of  Zambales,  exhibited 
irregular  scars  of  other  origin  on  their  arms  and  forearms.  These 
scars  resulted  from  burns  made  by  holding  embers  against  the  skin. 
Two  explanations  of  this  custom  were  given :  First,  it  was  a  means  of 
curing  in  febrile  diseases;  and  second,  it  was  used  as  a  test  of  bravery. 

A  widespread  custom  among  the  Negrito  women  is  that  of  per- 
forating the  lobule  of  the  lobe  of  the  ear.  This  serves  for  the  reception 
of  flowers.  It  was  observed  in  practically  every  region  visited  by  the 
writer.  It  is  made  at  the  seventh  or  eighth  year  with  a  sharp  bamboo 
stick.  In  young  girls  it  is  quite  small,  but  owing  to  the  repeated  intro- 
duction of  flowers,  it  becomes  by  the  time  adult  life  is  reached  very 
large.     Flowers  are  the  only  ornaments  used  l:)y  the  full-blood  Negritos. 

Dwellings:  These  vary  from  the  shelter  of  a  large  tree  to  a  crude 
imitation  of  the  nipa  house  of  the  Filipino.     The  commonest  form  is 


12  PHILIP    NEWTON 

very  simple.  It  is  easih'  constructed  and  as  easily  abandoned.  Two 
poles  about  seven  feet  long  are  cut  and  inserted  into  the  ground  in 
holes  dug  with  a  bolo,  about  five  feet  apart.  A  ridge  pole  is  then 
tied  to  the  uprights.  On  this  ridge-pole  is  balanced  a  framework 
filled  in  beforehand  with  woven  grass.  Between  the  poles  and  about 
one  and  one  half  feet  from  the  ground  is  made  on  short  bamboo  posts 
a  crude  seat  or  bed;  and  that  is  all,  except  that  the  top  of  the  hut  is 
adjusted  from  time  to  time  during  the  day  to  meet  the  chai)ge  in 
the  sun's  rays. 

More  substantial  shelters  are  constructed  by  the  Negritos  living  near 
other  tribes.  The  best  of  them,  however,  afford  little  protection 
against  the  elements.  The  only  thing  that  can  be  said  in  their  favor 
is  that  they  are  well  ventilated. 

Individual  shelters  are  isolated.  Groups  of  from  twenty  to  seventy 
Negritos,  banded  together  by  family  or  other  ties,  will  construct  their 
shelters  at  distances  varying  from  two  hundred  to  eight  hundred  yards 
from  each  other.  Within  a  few  square  miles  there  may  be  found 
several  such  groups.  The  different  groups  are  friendly,  and  there 
are  frequent  inter-marriages. 

Within  the  Negrito  shelter  there  is  no  furniture  other  than  the 
crude  bamboo  floor  or  bed.  Grass  may  be  spread  on  this,  but  there 
are  no  blankets.  Cooking  is  done  over  crudely  constructed  fireplaces 
outside  of  the  shelter. 

Sanitation:  Personal  necessities  are  attended  to  in  any  convenient 
spot  near  the  dwelling.  During  the  rainy  season  the  refuse  is  washed 
away  almost  immediately,  but  during  the  dry  season  the  decomposing 
material  attracts  thousands  of  flies  and  other  insects,  and  the  growing 
bad  odor  causes  the  inhabitants  to  make  frequent  changes  of  residence. 

If  a  Negrito  develops  a  contagious  disease,  such  as  smallpox,  and  it 
is  recognized,  food  and  drink  are  placed  near  the  patient  in  the  shelter 
and  the  rest  of  the  family  desert  him.  After  a  few  days  someone 
returns,  and  if  the  patient  is  still  alive,  more  food  and  drink  are  placed 
by  his  side.     This  practice  is  continued  until  he  recovers  or  dies. 

The  dead  are  buried  under  or  near  the  shelter  they  have  occupied 
during  life,  and  the  rest  of  the  family  move  to  a  new  location.  Among 
the  Negritos  unaffected  by  civilization,  the  body  is  placed,  without 
covering  or  coffin,  in  a  shallow  grave,  and  covered  over  with  dirt. 
No  ceremonies  so  far  as  could  be  learned  are  observed.  Due  to  the 
climate  the  body,  including  the  osseous  structures,  undergoes  a  very 
rapid  decay. 


NEGRITOS    OF   THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS  13 

Personal  Hygiene:  The  scanty  clothes  of  the  Negritos  are  apparently 
never  washed.  Bathing  of  the  body  is  a  very  infrequent  occurrence. 
The  teeth  are  never  cleaned.  Among  a  few  groups  the  custom  of 
pointing  the  incisor  teeth  was  observed.  It  is  more  common  on  the 
males  than  in  the  females.  It  is  practiced  during  advanced  adoles- 
cence; the  youngest  subject  seen  with  teeth  mutilated  in  this  manner 
was  a  girl  about  fifteen  years  old.  A  small  block  is  placed  against 
inner  surface  of  the  tooth,  and  the  point  of  the  bolo  brought  sharply 
against  the  outer  surface.  Decay  sets  in  rapidly  in  these  mutilated 
teeth,  other  teeth  decay  also  quite  readily  and  after  forty  years  of 
age  the  average  Negrito  has  usually  a  poor  denture.  The  ears  and 
noses  of  the  Negritos  of  all  ages,  besides  the  hair,  as  mentioned  before, 
are  generally  likewise  very  dirty. 

Experience  appears  to  have  taught  these  people  little  about  taking 
care  of  themselves.  Year  after  year  exposure  during  the  cold  foggy 
nights  of  certain  seasons  induces  pulmonary  diseases  from  which  many 
children  die.  The}^  readity  point  this  condition  out  as  being  one  of 
the  main  causes  of  death  among  children,  but  do  nothing  at  all  to 
improve  matters  at  the  next  favorable  season. 

Occupations:  Strictly  speaking,  the  Negrito  uninfluenced  by  con- 
tact has  no  occupation  other  than  hunting  game  and  gathering  wild 
fruit  and  roots  for  his  subsistence.  The  men  construct  shelters, 
and  make  their  bows  and  arrows.  As  for  agricultural  work,  little  is 
done  by  the  average  Negrito.  Small  areas  are  cleared  and  planted 
with  rice  by  those  Negritos  who  have  watched  other  tribes  raise 
crops,  but  just  as  frequently  as  not  the  family  is  said  to  move  away 
from  the  growing  rice  before  it  is  ripe,  without  returning  for  the  harvest. 

Among  Negritos  living  near  the  more  civilized  Filipinos  (Tagalogs, 
Ilokanos,  etc.),  occupations  of  a  more  useful  kind  are  observed,  such 
as  farming,  lumbering,  gathering  gums  and  rattan,  portering,  and 
acting  as  household  servants  for  other  races.  But  this  intimacy  with 
semi-civilization  does  not  improve  the  Negrito  either  socially  or 
hygienically.  He  soon  acquires  a  craving  for  alcohol,  while  his 
brother  of  the  far-off  mountain  regions  knows  nothing  of  such  bever- 
ages. He  seldom  acquires  an  understanding  of  the  value  of  his  services 
or  of  money,  as  a  consequence  of  which  he  is  much  imposed  upon.  It 
is  not  unusual  to  see  petty  officials  of  the  Filipino  villages  getting 
rich  at  the  expense  of  the  ignorant  Negritos. 

Small  Negrito  boys  were  many  times  seen  acting  as  house-boys  for 
other  races.     Inquiry  elicited  the  fact  that  these  boys  almost  in- 


14  PHILIP    NEWTON 

variabh^  returned  to  their  natural  life  shortly  after  reaching  the  age 
of  puberty,  and  that  attempts  to  educate  them  had  failed.  However, 
mixed-breed  Negrito  children  are  more  amenable  to  the  restraints  of 
civilization. 

Food:  The  principal  articles  of  diet  among  the  wild  Negritos,  in 
the  main  as  already  indicated,  are  fruit,  edible  roots,  and  the  meat  of 
wild  animals.  The  animals  are  small  deer,  wild  hogs,  lizards,  monkeys, 
birds  and  wild  chickens.  Honey  is  sought  for  and  eaten  with  relish. 
The  vegetable  products  of  the  forests  include  bananas,  mangos, 
cocoanuts,  berries,  wild  camote,  and  the  roots  of  a  few  other  plants. 
Rice  and  fish  are  eaten  when  obtainable.  Negritos  are  not  fishermen, 
but  they  shoot  fish  in  the  mountain  streams  with  their  arrows,  when 
they  see  them. 

The  preparation  of  food  is  primitive.  Meat  is  usually  roasted  over 
a  crude  fireplace.  If  a  utensil  for  the  purpose  is  at  hand,  the  meat 
may  be  boiled  with  fruit,  rice,  or  other  vegetables. 

If  food  is  plentiful,  the  Negrito  will  have  three  or  four  meals  a  day. 
If  it  is  scarce,  only  one  meal  a  day  may  be  eaten. 

The  hours  for  meals  among  the  wilder  groups  are  very  irregular. 
There  is  no  set  time  for  any  one  meal  during  the  day.  If  food  is 
plentiful,  as  is  the  case  after  a  deer  has  been  killed,  the  quantity  of 
food  consumed  at  the  next  meal  will  be  greater  than  is  ordinarily  the 
case.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  largest  meal  is  eaten  during 
the  afternoon,  usually  an  hour  or  two  before  sunset. 

Alcohol  and  Drug  Habits:  No  alcoholic  drinks  are  manufactured  by 
the  wild  Negritos  and  their  use  is  unknown.  Those  living  near  villages 
of  other  tribes  become  readily  intoxicated.  Many  will  work  harder  if 
rewarded  with  drink  than  if  paid  with  money. 

The  chewing  of  betel  nuts  (the  seeds  of  a  palm,  Areca  catechu)  is  an 
almost  universal  practice  among  the  Negritos.  Even  those  groups 
living  far  off  from  other  tribes  have  this  habit,  which,  however,  is 
not  confined  to  the  Negritos.  The  Negritos  living  far  off  acquire  the 
betel  nuts  by  trade  with  those  living  nearer  trading  centers.  The 
Negritos  of  two  regions  in  the  north  of  Luzon  did  not  use  the  nut  and, 
as  far  as  the  writer  could  ascertain,  did  not  know  of  its  existence. 
The  physiological  effects  of  the  betel-nut  chewing  habit  are  not  well 
determined. 

Smoking  is  indulged  in  by  men,  women,  and  children  when  tobacco 
is  available.  No  tobacco,  however,  is  raised  by  the  Negritos,  and  its 
use  is  very  limited  in  the  wilder  regions. 


NEGRITOS    OF    THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS  15 

GENERAL    HABITS    OF   LIFE,    CHARACTER,    AND    SOCIAL    CONDITION. 

Negritos  usually  sleep  from  darkness  to  dawn.  If  they  are  on  the 
march,  they  sleep  wherever  darkness  overtakes  them.  Even  in  the 
rainy  season  thej'-  will  sleep  with  a  tree  as  their  only  protection  against 
the  elements. 

Upon  arising  the  Negrito  gives  no  thought  to  personal  cleanliness. 
When  a  Negrito  enters  water  it  is  usually  as  a  means  of  crossing  the 
stream,  or  for  a  relief  from  the  heat. 

The  average  Negrito  is  not  industrious,  unless  it  be  in  the  quest  for 
much  needed  food  or  in  the  hunt.  Under  proper  guidance,  he  will 
work,  but  never  very  strenuously  or  for  a  long  time.  He  may  be 
made  to  build  a  comparatively  large  bamboo  and  grass  house  for 
others,  but  remains  perfectly  satisfied  with  a  small  flimsy  shelter  for 
himself  and  his  family. 

As  to  amusements,  dancing  and  playing  primitive  games  are  common 
among  the  children  and  younger  adults.  Gambling  was  not  ob- 
served anywhere. 

In  disposition,  the  Negritos  are  cheerful  and  contented.  Their 
wants  are  few,  and  their  passions  moderate. 

The  moral  status  of  the  Negritos  living  far  awa}^  from  other  tribes 
is  good ;  among  the  mixed  breeds  however  and  with  the  Negritos  living 
in  or  around  villages  of  other  tribes,  it  is  of  low  standard. 

Social  Abnormalities.  Artificial  Abortion:  Desire  for  and  love  of 
young  children  were  strong  among  the  Negritos.  Artificial  abortion 
was  not  reported.  Accidents  causing  abortion  were  reported  in  three 
cases. 

Infanticide:  This  was  unknown. 

Crime:  The  Negritos  of  Bataan  were  reported  to  be  a  very  peaceful 
people.  In  the  North,  certain  groups  are  in  almost  continuous  war 
with  the  Kalingas.  Murder  and  assault  are  very  infrequent  among 
the  unaffected  groups,  and  when  they  occur  they  are  usually  tribal 
punishment  rather  than  individual  differences.  Incentive  to  theft 
and  robbery  are  wanting  among  the  Negritos  because  of  the  absence 
of  articles  of  value. 

Suicide:  No  suicides  were  reported  among  the  groups  visited. 

REPRODUCTION 

Marriage:  Marriage  among  both  the  pure-blood  types  and  the  breeds 
is  entered  into  at  an  early  age.     Some  degree  of  mutual  attraction  is 


16  PHILIP    NEWTON 

said  to  usually  exist  before  the  union.  Voluntary  loss  of  chastity 
on  the  part  of  the  unmarried  woman  was  reported  as  quite  infrequent; 
but  if  it  occurs  it  is  not  regarded  as  a  serious  obstacle  to  future  mar- 
riage. The  girl  usually  exercises  the  right  of  acceptance.  Among 
the  pure  types  separation  is  said  to  be  rather  rare.  Polyandry  was 
seen  in  two  instances  among  the  Bataks.  Polygamy  was  observed 
several  times  during  the  trip  among  the  mixed  types,  the  man  in 
each  case  being  of  enough  importance  to  support  two  wives. 

Intermarriage  of  relatives  nearer  than  first  cousins  was  not  learned 
of. 

The  approximate  age  of  several  girls  just  married,  or  about  to  be 
married,  was  between  fourteen  and  sixteen.  The  approximate  age 
of  puberty  is  seemingly  about  twelve. 

Sterile  Women;  Preference  of  Sex;  Gestation.  In  the  series  given 
above,  there  were  ten  couples  to  whom  children  had  not  been  born  two 
or  more  years  after  marriage.  Further  information  along  these  lines 
is  lacking  for  the  reason  that  the  Negritos  did  not  comprehend  the 
questions.  < 

Most  of  the  women  questioned  appeared  to  want  boys  more  than 
girls. 

Pregnancy  does  not  interfere  materially  with  the  daily  life  of  the 
Negrito  women.  Even  in  the  last  months  of  gestation  these  women 
travel  with  the  rest  of  the  family.  No  special  precautions,  such  as 
special  diets,  avoidance  of  work,  etc.,  were  observed.  Morning  sick- 
ness was  unknown. 

Labor:  Preparation  for  childbirth  does  not  occur.  When  the  first 
pains  come  on  the  woman  seeks  her  dwelling  or  the  shelter  of  a  tree. 
In  the  intervals  between  pains  she  may  walk  around  a  few  steps,  but 
during  the  pains  she  remains  lying  on  the  ground.  Delivery  usually 
occurs  in  the  kneeling  or  squatting  position.  In  the  larger  groups, 
older  women  act  as  assistants.  If  the  family  is  on  the  march,  another 
woman  and  the  husband,  or  the  husband  alone,  assist.  In  any  event, 
the  assistance  rendered  is  very  little.  The  assistant  simply  catches 
the  child  when  it  is  born,  and  holds  it  while  the  mother  assumes  the 
dorsal  recumbent  posture.  After  a  few  minutes  the  cord  is  tied  with 
a  piece  of  vegetable  fiber  about  three  or  four  inches  from  the  umbilicus, 
and  the  cord  severed  beyond  this.  A  bolo  is  used  in  most  cases  to 
cut  the  cord  with.  Delivery  of  the  placenta  follows  in  a  few  minutes, 
the  average  time  for  the  few  cases  seen  being  less  than  in  civilized 
races. 


NEGRITOS    OF    THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS  17 

After  delivery  the  woman  remains  quiet  for  three  or  four  hours,  but 
travel  is  not  resumed  until  the  second  or  third  day.  No  cleansing  of 
either  the  mother  or  child  is  attempted.  Fresh  green  leaves  are  placed 
on  the  stump  of  the  cord,  and  the  child  placed  to  the  mother's  breast. 
If  a  piece  of  cloth  is  at  hand,  the  child  is  wrapped  in  it,  but  in  many 
instances  the  only  protection  against  exposure  is  the  mother's  body. 

Some  dystocia  was  reported  in  a  few  instances,  but  it  appears  to  be 
rare.  One  case  of  what  was  apparently  a  transverse  presentation  was 
spoken  of;  the  mother  and  child  both  perished.  A  few  deaths  during 
the  puerperium  were  mentioned,  but  ordinarily  this  period  is  declared 
to  be  free  from  disease.  No  change  is  made  in  the  diet.  Twins  were 
not  seen,  and  only  reported  three  times.  Histories  of  triplets  or  mon- 
strosities were"  not  obtained.  ^Vlinor  abnormalities  were  reported 
in  a  few  cases. 

Early  Attention  to  the  Infant.  Nursing  and  Feeding:  No  apparatus 
of  any  kind  is  used  to  carry  the  infant  in.  The  child  as  mentioned  is 
placed  on  the  mother's  breast  immediately  after  the  cord  is  cut,  and 
remains  constantly'  with  the  mother  until  it  learns  to  walk.  The 
flow  of  milk  is  usually  established  promptly,  and  the  child  nurses' at 
the  breast  for  twelve  or  fourteen  months.  About  the  sixth  month 
and  after  the  child  is  given  small  bits  of  any  kind  of  food  the  parents 
happen  to  secure  for  their  own  subsistence.  Clothing  for  the  child  is 
ordinarily  restricted  to  one  piece  of  cloth  which  is  wrapped  around  the 
trunk,  but  in  many  cases  even  this  slight  protection  is  wanting,  and 
the  child  goes  naked  until  it  is  given  a  breechcloth  or  a  small  skirt. 

•  VITAL    STATISTICS 

The  foregoing  paragraphs  have  touched  on  the  ordinary  conditions 
of  life  and  such  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Negritos  of  the  Philippine 
Islands  as  are  presumably  capable  of  influencing  their  physiological 
functions  and  health. 

The  environment  in  which  the  Negrito  originally  developed  is 
naturally  unknown.  Their  present  environment  can  hardly  be 
assumed  to  be  their  natural  one,  judging  by  the  traces  of  their  wide- 
spread distribution,  their  more  or  less  rapid  absorption  by  other  races, 
and  especially  by  one  important  physiological  difference  between  them 
and  other  races  having  an  analogous  environment.  This  difference 
in  function  is  that  of  the  small  number  of  children  actually  born  to 
each  family,  and  the  long  intervals  between  births. 

From  the  table  given  below,  it  will  be  seen  that  ninety-three  families 


18 


PHILIP    NEWTON 


had  a  total  of  two  hundred  and  eleven  children  born  to  them,  an 
average  of  2.27  children  per  family.  These  families  were  all  of  the 
pure-blood  type,  and  represented  widely  separated  groups  of  Negritos. 
No  practice  of  any  kind  for  the  prevention  of  conception  could  be 
learned  of,  nor  would  the  number  of  abortions  and  miscarriages 
account  for  this  restricted  number  of  births. 

Nursing  at  the  breast  is  not  unduly  prolonged,  the  child  being  given 
the  regular  family  diet  after  the  twelfth  or  fourteenth  month,  and  some 
of  it,  of  course,  much  sooner. 


Family  St. 

(931      NEGEITO 

i.TISTICS 

families) 

Subjects  Investigated 

Total 

Percentage  of 
Total  Born 

Percentage  of 
Number  of  Liv- 
ing and  Dead 

Ratio  of  Malea 

and  Females 
(Females =100) 

Total  births 

211 
106 
105 

118 
60 

58 

93 
46 
47 

m.2z 

49.76 

55.92 
56.60 
55.23 

44.07 
43.39 

44.77 

50185 
49.15 

49  ^46 
50.54 

Boys 

Gir"ls 

Total  surviving 

ioo.95 

Boys 

Girls 

Total  died 

103.44 

Boys 

Girls 

97.87 

Population  by  Ages:  No  figures  can  be  given  for  this  interesting  sub- 
ject. Ages  in  all  cases  had  to  be  approximated,  as  the  Negritos  know 
nothing  of  reckoning  time.  It  was  observed  by  approximation,  hovv'- 
ever,  that  the  number  of  individuals  reaching  old  age*  (65  years  or 
over)  was  remarkably  small.  Environment  accounts  for  this  mortality 
beyond  a  doubt.  In  those  individuals  approximated  to  be  over  forty- 
five  years  of  age  the  teeth  were,  as  already  mentioned,  almost  invari- 
ably decaj^ed  to  such  an  extent  that  mastication  was  seriously  im- 
paired, and  poor  mastication  leads  to  malnutrition  if  continued  over 
a  period  of  years,  thus  lowering  the  resistance  of  the  subject  to  patho- 
genic influences.  With  his  lowered  vitality  the  subject  becomes  an 
easy  victim  to  bronchial  or  lung  disease  caused  by  exposure  to  the 
cold  damp  nights  of  certain  seasons  of  the  year. 

The  mortality  for  all  ages  of  children  was  44  per  cent.  When  com- 
pared with  the  mortality  among  the  children  in  the  provincial  Filipino 

» Ten  of  these  families  had  no  children  born  to  them,  although  living  together 
in  each  case  for  two  years  or  more. 


NEGRITOS    OF   THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS  19 

villages,  it  will  be  found  that  the  death  rate  is  smaller  among  the 
Negritos  than  among  the  Filipinos. 

Size  of  Families:  The  writer's  figures  given  above  in  the  table  of 
children  born  to  ninety-three  families  are  the  only  ones  available. 
From  this  limited  investigation,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  number  of 
living  children  for  ninety-three  families  was  118,  or  1.26  children  per 
family.  The  greatest  number  of  children  born  to  families  of  the  pure- 
blood  type  was  five,  and  the  greatest  number  of  living  children  in  one 
family  was  three.  Among  the  mixed  types,  the  percentage  of  children 
born  was  greater,  as  many  as  nine  -being  reported  in  each  of  two 
families. 

It  is  quite  apparent  from  this  that  the  birth  rate  among  the  pure- 
blood  types  is  insufficient  to  keep  up  the  numerical  strength  of  the 
people. 

Proportion  of  Sexes:  Nothing  reliable  is  known  about  the  porportion 
of  sexes.  jNIore  men  than  women  were  seen,  as  the  men  are  greater 
travelers.  Figures  are  not  available  for  large  numbers,  but  personal 
observation  indicated  that  there  was  no  undue  proportion  of  one 
sex  over  the  other. 

PHYSIOLOGICAL    OBSERVATIONS 

The  details  of  these  observations,  as  well  as  those  of  the  anthropo- 
metric measurements,  must  be  reserved  for  a  future  publication. 

Pulse,  Respiration,  Temperature:  The  pulse  was  found  to  be  some- 
what more  frequent  in  the  Negritos  than  it  is  in  average  whites,  the 
mean  in  one  hundred  healthy  Negrito  men  being  76.1,  in  fifty  healthy 
women  76.3  per  minute.  This  in  sitting  position  and  with  the  in- 
dividual at  rest.  The  normal  in  whites  is,  as  well  known,  about  71 
in  men  and  slightly  more  in  women.  Respiration,  under  same  con- 
ditions, averaged  18.05  in  the  males  and  18.3  per  minute  in  the  fe- 
males; temperature  (sub  lingua),  slightly  less  than  98.6  in  the  males 
and  slightly  more  than  98.6  in  the  females.  Among  healthy  white 
Americans  examined  in  the  same  way  Dr.  Hrdlicka  obtains  the 
averages,  for  respiration,  of  17  in  men  and  18.4  in  women,  for  tempera- 
ture 98.5  in  men  and  98.7  in  women.  The  Negritos  may  thus  be  said 
to  present  a  perceptibly  more  rapid  pulse  than  the  whites;  a  slightly 
more  frequent  respiration  in  the  males;  and  practically  the  same 
temperature.  Their  lack  of  clothing  favors  of  course  heat  radiation, 
though  this  may  be  offset  more  or  less  through  adaptive  changes  in 
the  skin. 


20 


PHILIP    NEWTON 


A  number  of  interesting  observations  were  made  in  connection  with 
these  tests.  Four  young  pregnant  women  gave  the  pulse  of  96,  86, 
90,  92;  respiration  of  20,  22,  23,  and  26;  and  temperatures  of  98.8, 
98.7,  98.6,  and  98.8.  The  pulse  considerably  increased  with  the 
respiration  moderately  so,  but  temperature  quite  normal.  Fatigued 
persons,  on  the  other  hand,  and  those  hungry,  gave  invariably  lower 
pulse,  respiration  as  well  as  temperature.  In  a  group  of  eighteen 
males  the  temperature,  taken  between  five  and  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  was  found  in  each  case  to  be  from  one  to  two  and  a  half 
degrees  below  normal.  Inquiry  developed  the  fact  that  the  men  had 
been  marching  all  night,  and  had  no  food  for  twelve  hours.  The 
temperature  was  taken  again  about  one  hour  after  a  meal  and  in  each 
case  was  found  to  be  about  the  average.  Sight  lowering  of  pulse, 
respiration  as  well  as  temperature  was  also  noticed  in  the  older  persons. 

The  averages,  minima  and  maxima  of  the  above  determinations, 
in  healthy  persons,  were  as  follows: 


Males 

Females 

Average 

Minimum 

Maximum 

Average 

Minimum 

Maximum 

Pulse 

Respiration 

Temperature 

76.1 
18.05 

98.58 

64 
16 

97.8 

88 
20 
99.2 

76.3 
18.3 
98.62 

66 
16 

98.2 

84 
20 
99.6 

Muscular  Force:  This  was  determined  by  obtaining  the  maximum 
pressure  in  each'  hand  with  a  standard  Collin  dynamometer.  The 
averages  for  both  sexes  was  considerably  lower  than  the  averages  for 
the  white  race. 

The  Skin  and  Its  Appendages:  The  color  of  the  skin  in  adult  Negritos 
of  the  pure-blood  type  was  uniformly  chocolate  brown.  Numerous 
comparisons  with  Broca's  Color  Standards  showed  it  to  correspond 
most  closely  with  Nos.  42  and  43.  The  mucous  membranes  were 
hemoglobin  red  with  a  bluish  tinge.  The  hair  on  all  parts  of  the  body 
where  it  grew  was  black,  with  an  occasional  discoloration  due  to  ex- 
posure to  the  sun.  Irregularities  of  pigmentation  were  frequent. 
They  were  due  almost  entirely  to  tinea  imbricata,  except  in  Bataan, 
where  the  practice  of  ornamental  scarring  was  observed.  The  skin 
was  ordinarily  dirty  and  unhealthy.  Sweating  was  not  more  profuse 
than  would  be  expected  in  a  tropical  country. 

The  hair  on  the  head  was  from  two  to  six  inches  in  length.  It  was 
uniformly  black,  coarse,  and  woolly.  The  beard  and  mustache  were 
generally  scant   and   short.     Baldness   was   observed   in   the   oldest 


NEGRITOS    OF    THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS 


21 


individuals,    but    was    never   pronounced.     Graj'ness    was    common, 
but  nothing  can  be  said  regarding  the  actual  age  of  its  appearance. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 

Measurements  and  special  somatic  as  well  as  phj'siological  ob- 
servations were  made  on  147  full-blood  adult  men  and  fifty  women, 
as  well  as  on  a  series  of  mixed  bloods.  The  elaboration  of  this  material 
was  interrupted  by  the  war  and  the  final  report  on  the  numerous 
interesting  results  must  therefore  be  delayed.  A  brief  abstract  of 
the  measurements  of  the  stature  and  of  those  of  the  head  is  however 
appended. 

Stature  axd  Head  Measurement  of  the  Negritos  (full-bloods) 
MALES  (147  adults)  females  (50  adults) 


Average, 

Minimum. 

Maxlmiim, 

Average, 

Minlmum, 

Maximum, 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Stature  

147.- 

140.2 

-   154.3 

138.- 

129.6    - 

-     146.1 

Head: 

^    Length  max 

18.- 

17.- 

-     18.8 

17.4 

16.1     - 

-        18.4 

1  Breadth  max 

'    Heighti 

14.9 

13.9 

-     15.6 

14.5 

13.6    - 

-      15.6 

12.4 

11.6 

-     13.1 

12.4 

11.5    - 

-      12.7 

Indices : 

,    Cephalic 

82.7 

83.5 

Height-Length 

68.9 

71.A 

Height -Breadth 

83.3 

85.5 

Height-Index^ 

754 

.  77.8 

Face : 

(a)  Height    menton- 

nasion 

10.- 

8.9 

-     11.- 

9.4 

8.4  - 

10.4 

(6)  Height     menton- 

crimon 

17.3 

15.5 

-     18.7 

16.1 

14.3  - 

17.3 

(c)  Diam.       bizygo- 

matic  max.  .  .  . 

13.55 

12.4 

14.2 

13.- 

12.1 

14.- 

Facial    Index,   lower 

a  X  100 
c 
Facial    Index,    total 

7j!,. 

72.5 

c  XlOO 

b         

78.3 

80.6 

MEDICAL    OBSERVATIONS 

Many  agencies  capable  of  affecting  the  Negrito's  health  have  been 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraphs. 

Mosquitoes  are  the  most  troublesome  insects.  Their  bite  does  not 
cause  a  severe  reaction  in  the  Negrito,  but  during  certain  seasons  these 

1  From  line  connecting  the  floor  of  meatus  auditor  to  brcgina. 

'  Height  multiphed  by  100,  divided  by  the  mean  of  length  and  breadth. 


22  PHILIP    NEWTON 

insects  cause  enough  irritation  to  seriously  interfere  with  sleep. 
Centipedes,  fleas,  ants,  and  several  species  of  mites  are  all  the  cause 
of  much  local  irritation.  Investigation  as  to  snake-bites  revealed 
nothing  among  the  Negritos,  although  death  from  snake-bite  was 
common  among  the  Filipinos. 

The  dry  season  is  naturally  the  more  healthful  one.  During  the 
rainy  season  malaria  and  bronchial  diseases  are  common,  the  latter 
causing  many  deaths  among  the  very  young  and  the  aged.  Gastro- 
intestinal diseases  are  more  prevalent  during  the  wet  seasons,  owing 
apparently  to  contamination  of  the  water  supply. 

DISEASES 

Diseases  of  the  SJcin:  Tinea  Imhricata,  a  form  of  body  ringworm  pro- 
duced by  a  trichophyton,  and  characterized  by  a  concentric  arrange- 
ment of  closely  set  rings  of  scaling  epidermis,  is  very  widespread 
among  the  Negritos.  It  was  observed  in  all  stages  of  severity,  from 
a  few  spots  to  an  involvement  of  the  entire  surface  of  the  body,  with 
the  exception  of  the  palms  and  soles  and  the  scalp.  The  disease  is 
communicated  by  contact,  and  fostered  by  uncleanliness.  Acne 
vulgaris  was  common  at  the  age  of  puberty  and  adolescence.  Pedic- 
ulosis capitis  and  corpus  were  quite  common,  especially  head  lice. 
Tropical  itches  of  several  varieties  were  observed.  Keloid  was  seen 
in  two  cases.     Boils  were  seen  several  times. 

General  Diseases:  Malaria  was  very  widespread  among  many  groups, 
and  less  frequent  among  a  few  groups  far  off  from  other  habitations. 
No  blood  examinations  were  made,  but  from  the  clinical  findings 
diagnoses  of  both  the  benign  and  the  malignant  forms  were  made. 
The  methods  of  treatment  were  very  primitive  and  quite  ineffectual. 
The  application  of  hot  embers  to  the  naked  skin,  for  the  purpose  of 
"drawing  out  the  fever,"  was  frequently  tried  among  certain  groups 
in  Bataan  and  Zambales.  Among  other  groups  the  "medicine" 
woman  attempted,  by  means  of  much  vocal  noise  and  many  bodily 
contortions,  to  draw  the  fever  from  the  body  of  the  patient  to  her 
own  body. 

Deaths  from  the  malignant  form  of  malaria  (aestivo-autumnal  in- 
fection) were  reported  a  number  of  times.  In  the  benign  forms,  the 
disease  usually  runs  its  course,  to  reappear  the  next  year.  No  reli- 
able statistics  were  obtained  as  to  the  percentage  of  the  Negrito 
population  that  suffered  from  malaria,  but  during  the  season  of  rains 
when  the  writer  made  his  studies,  the  disease  was  quite  prevalent 
among  both  sexes  and  all  ages.     Judging  from  the  number  of  mos- 


NEGRITOS    OF    THE    PHILIPPINE    ISLANDS  23 

quitoes  which  included  a  large  percentage  of  the  Anopheles  group, 
the  chances  for  infection  were  very  large.  The  patients  were  in  no 
way  protected,  thus  allowing  many  more  mosquitoes  to  become  in- 
fected. Quinine  was  unknown,  except  to  a  small  group  of  Negritos 
v/ho  visited  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  in  1904.  Whenever  it  was 
possible  to  do  so,  the  malaria  patients  were  dosed  with  quinine; 
frequent  moves  did  not  permit  of  an  exhausted  study  of  the  results 
of  the  treatment,  but  in  many  cases  the  drug  had  a  prompt  and  bene- 
ficial effect. 

Tuberculosis:  This  disease  was  diagnosed  but  twice  among  the  pure- 
blood  type.  Both  cases  were  of  the  pulmonary  form,  and  both  pre- 
sented the  characteristic  physical  signs.  One  case  was  a  female, 
approximately  twenty  years  of  age,  the  other  a  male,  approximately 
twenty-five  years  of  age.  Both  cases  gave  histories  of  contact  with 
Filipinos,  among  whom  the  disease  is  very  common.  With  these 
exceptions,  tuberculosis  was  not  observed.  Considering  the  open- 
air  life  of  the  Negrito,  this  is  as  would  be  anticipated. 

Leprosy:  No  case  of  leprosy  among  the  Negritos  was  seen,  even  at 
the  Leper  Colony,  where  more  than  two  thousand  lepers  were  segre- 
gated.    Inquiries  indicated  that  leprosy  was  unknown  in  these  people. 

Variola:  About  ten  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  Negritos  ex- 
amined showed  the  characteristic  scars  resulting  from  smallpox. 
The  disease  itself  was  not  seen,  and  information  gathered  from  various 
sources  showed'  that  smallpox  had  not  been  epidemic  for  over  four 
years.  In  all  cases,  the  infection  was  at  first  communicated  to  those 
Negritos  living  near  the  Filipino  towns,  and  from  them  to  the  Negritos 
living  farther  away.  Systematic  vaccination  among  the  more  civilized 
tribes  resulted  in  checking  the  ravages  among  them,  and  secondarily 
'among  the  Negritos,  by  removing  the  source  of  infection. 

Dengue:  This  disease  was  observed  among  a  few  mixed-breeds 
living  near  Filipino  villages. 

Gaslro-intesiinal  Diseases.  Dysentery:  This  disease  existed  in  about 
fifteen  per  cent  of  the  Negritos.  Lack  of  time  and  apparatus  pre- 
cluded more  than  a  cursory  examination,  and  it  is  likely  that  many 
of  the  diarrheal  conditions  were  not  true  dysentery.  The  insanitary 
surroundings  and  water  contaminations  already  referred  to  presented 
numerous  opportunities  for  infection. 

Typhoid  fever  and  cholera:  These  two  diseases  were  not  seen,  and 
histories  as  to  their  occurrence  were  negative. 

Diarrhocal  diseases  of  children:  Indiscriminate  feeding  of  young 
children   resulted   in   many   cases   of  intestinal   disorder.     Notwith- 


24  PHILIP    NEWTON 

standing  this  peculiar  diet,  the  Negrito  child  was  stronger  than  the 
average  white  child  of  the  same  age.  Green  fruit  and  exposure  were 
causes  of  intestinal  disorders  in  the  older  children. 

Diseases  of  the  Respiratory  Tract.  Acute  coryza:  "Catching  cold" 
was  more  frequent  among  the  children  than  among  the  adults.  Bron- 
chitis: During  the  cold,  damp  nights  of  certain  seasons  acute  bronchitis 
is  reported  as  common  among  the  children  and  the  aged.  This  disease 
and  pneumonia  (lobar)  were  actually  diagnosed  in  more  than  thirty- 
patients.  The  writer  was  told  repeatedly  that  bronchial  diseases 
were  the  cause  of  death  among  children  in  most  cases. 

Venereal  Diseases.  Syphilis:  Manifestations  of  this  disease  were 
not  seen  in  any  individual  of  the  pure-blood  type.  Contact  with 
other  races  was  accountable  for  its  presence  in  a  few  mixed-breeds. 
Gonorrhoea:  No  evidences  of  this  disease  were  seen.  No  special 
examination  was  made,  but  the  absence  of  ophthalmia  and  blindness 
were  taken  as  indicators. 

Surgical  Conditions.  Fractures:  Fractures  in  long  bones  are  treated 
by  rest,  the  most  common  result  being  deformity.  Wounds:  The 
only  treatment  observed  was  the  application  of  green  leaves  to  the 
wound.  Infections  usually  occurred,  with  healing  by  second  intention 
and  the  formation  of  a  scar. 

Cutting  Operations:  The  only  operations  observed  have  already  been 
mentioned,  i.e.,  the  incisions  made  for  the  purpose  of  ornamental 
scarring,  the  perforation  of  the  external  ears  in  females,  and  the 
cutting  of  the  umbilical  cord. 

Anomalies  and  Deformities:  Six  fingers  on  one  hand  were  seen  in 
one  case.  The  subject  was  a  young  adult  male.  Congenital  absence 
of  the  small  toe  was  seen  in  a  male  child  about  twelve  years  of  age. 
Deformities  resulting  from  fractures  have  been  mentioned.  The 
rachitic  deformities  so  common  in  the  negro  race  in  the  United  States 
were  not  once  seen.  Spread-toes  was  a  universal  condition.  In 
this  condition  the  great  toe  deviates  somewhat  towards  the  median 
line,  and  is  well  developed  from  constant  climbing.  The  foot  of  the 
new-born  child  is  quite  normal. 

CRITICAL    CONSIDERATIONS 

Racial  comparisons  and  critical  considerations  of  the  data  obtained 
on  the  Negrito  through  the  study  of  which  the  above  is  a  partial  report, 
must  be  postponed  until  the  detailed  results  of  the  measurements  and 
observations  can  be  published.  This  special  ethnic  group  is  however 
of  such  interest  that  even  the  preliminary  remarks  here  given  may  be 
of  service. 


THE   INDIAN   BRAIN 

J.   J.   KEEGAX 
From  the  Department  of  Anatomy,  University  of  Nebraska 

The  three  Indian  brains  which  are  the  basis  of  this  study  are  from 
the  great  brain  collection  of  the  Division  of  Physical  Anthropology 
in  the  United  States  National  Museum,  and  were  called  to  the  writer's 
attention  by  Dr.  Ales  Hrdlicka,  Curator  of  the  Division,  who  was  also 
instrumental  in  arranging  their  loan.  They  consist  of  two  full-blood 
Tonto  Apache,  collected  many  years  ago  by  Dr.  Washington  Mathews, 
and  one  full-blood  Teton  Sioux,  collected  by  Hrdlicka.  With  the 
brain  of  an  Omaha  Indian  recently  reported  from  the  University  of 
Nebraska  Medical  College^  and  a  specimen  in  Johns  Hopkins,  they 
are  the  only  brains  from  this  race  that  have  been  preserved  in  this 
country.  And  as  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  full-blood  North  American 
Indian  brains  for  study  increases,  due  to  the  extensive  admixture  with 
other  races,  it  is  important  that  this  material  be  placed  upon  record. 

Although  the  interpretation  of  cerebral  characters  has  not  yet 
furnished  a  certain  guide  to  the  establishment  of  mental  differences  of 
race,  sex  or  individual,  the  knowledge  of  the  evolution,  structure  and 
function  of  the  cerebral  cortex  has  advanced  sufficienth'  in  the  last 
ten  years  to  permit  a  better  comparison  of  cerebra  than  was  possible 
•at  the  time  of  the  great  monographs  of  Eberstaller,^  Cunningham'  and 
Retzius.^  The  significance  of  this  later  work  of  functional  and  histo- 
logical localization  in  the  establishment  of  definite  relations  between 
areas  of  cortex  and  the  fissural  pattern  has  not  been  emphasized  by 
many  writers  in  cerebral  anthropology,  perhaps  due  to  the  still  rather 
incomplete  knowledge  in  the  subject  and  the  uncertainty  of  its  applica- 
tion. But  that  it  has  proven  of  distinct  value,  furnishes  the  most 
rational  interpretation  of  fissures  and  convolutions  and  offers  the  most 
promise  in  future  investigations,  I  hope  to  show  by  a  brief  review 

1  Keegan,  J.  J.,  A  plains  Indian  brain. — J.  Comp.  Neurol.,  191G,  xxvi,  403. 

2  Das  Stirnhirn,  1890. 

'  Surface  anatomy  of  the  cerebral  hemispheres. — Mem.  Roy.  Irish  Acad.,  1892, 
No.  7. 

*  Das  Menschenhirn,  1896. 

25 
Amer.  Jour.  Phys.  Anthbop.,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1.  * 


26  J.    J.    KEEGAN 

of  the  more  specific  literature  and  an  application  to  the  material 
which  is  the  subject  of  this  paper. 

The  first  conception  of  the  brain  as  the  seat  of  the  mind  dates  back 
to  500  B.C.  but  even  as  recently  as  1800  it  was  common  among  the 
best  authorities  to  attribute  a  number  of  the  emotions  and  passions 
to  visceral  organs  as  the  heart,  the  stomach,  the  liver,  etc.,  or  to  con- 
sider the  seat  of  the  soul  to  be  localized  in  the  fluid  of  the  cerebral 
ventricles,  an  idea  which  had  descended  from  Herophilus  and  Galen. ^ 
These  irrational  ideas  at  such  a  late  period,  when  even  a  considerable 
knowledge  of  the  detailed  anatomy  of  the  brain  existed,  were  due 
largely  to  the  insensitiveness  of  the  cerebral  cortex  when  exposed  and 
the  lack  of  response  to  mechanical  stimulation. 

The  emphasis  upon  the  gray  matter  of  the  cerebral  cortex  as  the 
seat  of  all  mental  activities  was  first  advanced  by  Gall  and  Spurzheim- 
about  a  hundred  years  ago  in  an  elaborate  theory  or  system  of  cerebral 
localization.  Their  conception  of  the  brain  as  the  basis  of  all  mental 
activity  was  not  controlled  by  the  scientific  evidence  at  hand,  but 
was  elaborated  by  fantastic  ideas  into  a  system  of  subdivis- 
ion of  all  regions  of  the  cerebral  cortex  into  localized  areas,  each 
of  which  represented  some  prominent  mental  faculty  or  moral  char- 
acteristic. This  system,  popularly  known  as  phrenology  and  existing 
to-day  as  a  cult  of  fortune-telling,  obtained  many  followers  for  a  time 
even  among  scientific  men,  but  was  soon  supposedly  proven  to  be 
fallacious  by  physiological  experimentation  on  lower  animals,  and 
extirpations  or  destruction  of  small  and  large  parts  of  the  cerel^ral 
hemispheres  without  any  apparent  loss  of  specific  functions  but  rather 
a  diminution  of  all  functions,  thus  showing  the  brain  to  act  as  a  unit 
or  whole  and  not  as  separate  localized  parts  or  areas.  Following  this 
criticism  the  wave  of  scientific  opinion  went  to  the  other  extreme 
and  with  difficulty  entertained  any  idea  of  localization  of  function  in 
the  cerebral  cortex.  But  the  gradual  accumulation  of  physiological 
and  clinical  evidence  of  a  cerebral  localization,  especially  the  establish- 
ment by  Broca  in  1861  of  a  localized  motor  speech  center  in  the  inferior 
frontal  gyrus  of  the  left  hemisphere,  began  again  to  arouse  suspicions 
that  there  is  a  type  of  localization  in  the  cerebral  cortex,  but  related 
rather  to  different  motor  and  sensory  functions  than  to  higher  mental 
faculties. 

This  renewed  interest  in  the  cerebral  cortex  from  the  standpoint  of 
functional  localization  demanded  experimental  evidence  and  better 

1  Soury,  J.,  Le  systeme  nerveux  central,  1899. 

2  Anatomie  et  physiologie  du  systene  berveux,  1810-12. 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  27 

definition.  This  was  begun  by  the  work  of  Fritsch  and  Hitzig^  who, 
contrary  to  the  previous  claims  of  the  non-excitability  of  the  cerebral 
cortex,  obtained  definite  and  fixed  motor  response  from  galvanic 
electric  current  stimulation  in  the  region  of  the  sulcus  cruciatus  of  the 
dog's  cortex.  These  experiments  were  extended  and  presented  in 
greater  detail  by  Ferrier^  on  the  dog  and  lower  apes  by  use  of  the 
faradic  electric  current  instead  of  the  galvanic,  which  elicits  greater 
response  and  is  less  depressing  to  the  irritability  of  the  cortex.  This 
first  work  on  the  ape  established  the  constancy  and  homology  of  the 
sulcus  centralis  in  its  relation  to  the  motor  excitable  cortex.  Beevor 
and  Horsley^  in  a  similar  series  of  experiments  upon  the  lower  apes 
subdivided  this  motor  region  of  cortex  into  constant  areas,  each  con- 
nected with  definite  movements  in  some  part  of  the  bodj'',  locating 
these  on  both  sides  of  the  sulcus  centralis  and  attributing  overlapping 
qualities  to  them.  In  later  work  upon  the  higher  apes  they  claimed 
these  areas  to  be  more  definitely  localized,  with  intervening  portions 
of  non-excitable  cortex.  Griinbaum  and  Sherrington^  advanced  still 
further  the  exact  localization  of  the  limits  of  the  motor  cortex  from 
experiments  upon  the  highest  apes,  the  orang,  gorilla  and  chimpanzee. 
They  found  in  each  of  the  animals  examined  that  the  same  order  of 
motor  areas  was  present,  with  overlapping  qualities  however,  within 
the  precentral  convolution  and  limited  rather  sharply  posteriorly  by 
the  floor  of  the  sulcus  centralis.  Added  to  these  experiments  on  the 
ape  brain  were  a  few  observations  from  stimulation  of  this  region  of 
the  exposed  human  cerebral  cortex,  which  practically  agreed  with  the 
findings  in  the  higher  apes  in  the  location  and  the  motor  areas. 

This  experimental  work,  however,  was  limited  to  the  motor  cortex 
as  the  only  excitable  portion,  with  a  rapidly  decreasing  proportionate 
size  from  the  lower  apes  to  man.  The  proof  of  a  limited  cortical 
localization  of  function  suggested  the  possibility  of  a  more  general 
cortical  localization.  This  was  supported  by  numerous  clinical  ob- 
servations of  specific  sensory  or  psj'chic  defects  from  localized  injury 
or  tumor,  the  most  striking  being  the  long  recognized  speech  or 
language  defects,  the  loss  of  power  of  articulate  or  written  language 
and  loss  of  auditory  or  visual  memory  of  language,  each  existing 

'  Elektrische  Erregbarkeit  des  Grosshirns. — Arch.  /.  Anat.  Physiol,  u.  Wisscn. 
Med.,  1870. 

^  Functions  of  the  brain,  1876. 

»  Phil.  Trans.,  1890. 

*  Physiology  of  the  cerebral  cortex  of  the  anthropoid  apes. — Proc.  Roy.  Soc.y 
1903,  bcxii,  109. 


28  J.    J.    KEEGAN 

separately  and  associated  with  lesions  in  a  certain  region  of  the  cortex. 
But  the  difficulty  of  an  exact  functional  localization,  except  in  the 
motor  region,  and  the  apparently  undefined  irregularities  of  the  fissures 
and  convolutions,  stimulated  a  search  for  an  internal  structural  basis 
for  differentiation  of  cortical  areas.  Evidence  of  such  a  general 
structural  localization  was  first  advanced  by  Flechsig,i  although  the 
association  of  the  Betz  cell  area  with  the  motor  cortex  and  the  area 
striata  with  the  visual  cortex  had  long  been  recognized.  Flechsig 
found  that  the  myelin  sheath  of  the  nerve  fibers  of  the  cerebral  cortex 
does  not  develop  everywhere  simultaneously  or  to  the  same  degree, 
but  by  areas  and  in  a  definite  order  of  succession.  He  claimed  that 
thus  there  come  into  existence  sharply  circumscribed  areas  differing 
in  the  stages  of  development  of  their  elements;  that  these  fields  are 
constant  in  their  arrangement  and  repeat  themselves  in  essentially 
the  same  position  and  extent  in  all  individuals  of  approximately  the 
same  age.  The  number  of  such  localized  areas  was  first  placed  at 
forty  but  later  reduced  to  thirty-six^  (Plate  I).  Flechsig  interpreted 
that  since  every  area  possessed  a  special  anatomical  position  it  also 
possessed  a  special  functional  significance,  which  for  a  few  of  the  areas 
had  been  proven  by  experimental  and  clinical  evidence.  In  a  more 
general  way  he  divided  the  entire  cortex  into  three  regions  or  zones: 
primordial  zones  which  myelinate  before  birth,  mainly  primary  sensory 
and  motor;  intermediate  which  are  myelinated  in  the  first  month 
after  birth,  psycho-sensory  or  psycho-motor;  and  terminal  zones 
which  are  myelinated  in  the  second  month  after  birth,  the  so-called 
higher  association  centers  which  represent  the  latest  development  of 
the  central  nervous  system  and  are  the  most  characteristic  feature 
of  the  higher  development  of  the  human  brain. 

The  next  step  towards  the  proof  of  a  general  structural  localization 
in  the  cerebral  cortex,  and  inferred  functional  localization,  was  a 
complete  histological  examination  of  the  adult  cortex  in  search  for 
regional  differentiation  and  definite  boundary  lines  of  transition  from 
one  area  to  another.  This  was  first  completed  by  CampbelP  in  a  very 
important  monograph  based  upon  a  combined  study  of  fiber  disposi- 
tion and  of  cell  lamination  in  the  entire  cerebral  cortex  of  man,  ape, 
dog,  cat  and  pig.  On  the  basis  of  structural  differentiation  and  func- 
tional  interpretation   he   succeeded   in   mapping   out   about   fifteen 

1  Gehirn  und  Seele,  1896. 

^  Flechsig,  P.,  Untersuchungsmethoden  der  Grosshirnrinde. — Arch.  f.  Anat.  u. 
Physiol.,  1905,  337. 

'  Localization  of  cerebral  function,  1905. 


Pl.  I.     Myelogenetic  areas,  primordial,  intcnnccliutc  uml  Urininal  zones  (Flechsig). 


Prccentra]  posI"^^"  ,     PoS^C- 


iump° 


tjyceJitrol 


Visuo- 
psychic     / 


3cl  rt  /,^. 


Pl.  II.     Histological  localization  of  cerebral  functions  (Campbell). 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  31 

prominent  areas  of  cortex  on  the  surface  of  the  human  cerebrum,  which 
could  be  homologized  with  similar  areas  in  the  ape  and  higher  mam- 
malian brains  (Plate  II).  These  areas  also  corresponded  in  a  remark- 
able manner  to  the  general  developmental  subdivision  of  the  cortex 
presented  by  Flechsig,  thus  furnishing  corroborative  evidence  of  the 
correctness  and  reliability  of  the  methods.  The  almost  exact  corre- 
spondence in  the  ape  of  the  plainly  differentiated  Betz  cell  area  of 
cortex  with  the  area  of  excitable  motor  cortex  defined  by  Griinbaum 
and  Sherrington  furnished  proof  of  the  correctness  of  the  interpreta- 
tion of  functional  localization  from  structural  differentiation,  although 
the  motor  significance  of  the  giant  pyramidal  cells  of  Betz  had  long 
previously  been  recognized  by  Lewis  and  Clarke.^  The  frequent 
coincidence  of  area  limits  with  important  fissures  was  especially  noted 
by  Campbell  and  led  to  the  statement  that  the  fields  governing  the 
functions  we  have  hitherto  succeeded  in  locating  are  all  deposited  in 
direct  relation  to  some  important  sulcus,  which  in  one  direction  at 
any  rate,  forms  a  sharp  and  perfect  boundary. 

A  similar  histological  survey  of  the  human  cerebral  cortex  was 
presented  by  Brodman,^  which  represented  the  final  result  of  several 
j^ears  of  comparative  study  of  the  histological  localization  in  the 
cerebral  cortex  throughout  the  entire  mammalian  class  of  vertebrates, 
and  in  which  he  delineated  fifty-two  different  cortical  areas  in  the 
human  brain  (Plate  III).  These  areas  he  grouped  into  eleven  regions 
or  principal  fields:  the  postcentral  (tactile),  the  precentral  (motor), 
the  frontal  (association),  the  insular,  the  parietal  (association),  the 
temporal  (auditory),  the  occipital  (visual),  the  cingular,  retrosplenial, 
hippocampal,  and  olfactory,  the  general  agreement  of  which  to  the 
subdivisions  of  Flechsig  and  Campbell  is  very  evident.  According 
to  Brodman  the  structural  peculiarities  characteristic  of  each  area  are 
sharply  limited,  so  that  it  is  fairly  easy  in  serial  sections  to  recognize 
and  fix  the  limits  which  mark  off  each  area  from  the  adjoining  regions. 
He  also  called  attention  to  the  significant  fact  that,  while  the  greater 
,  number  of  the  fields  thus  defined  have,  as  far  as  is  known,  no  connec- 
tion with  actual  physiological  functions,  some  of  the  areas,  and  pre- 
cisely those  which  are  characterized  by  conspicuously  different  struc- 
ture, coincide  with  or  are  directly  related  to  the  regions  whose  functions 
are  known  from  experimental  physiological  research  or  clinical  observa- 
tions.    Little  emphasis,  however,  was  placed  upon  the  significance  of 

*  Cortical  localization  of  the  motor  area. — Proc.  Roy.  Soc,  1878,  No.  185. 

*  Die  Cortexgliodcning  clcs  Mon.schen. — /. /.  Psychol,  u.  Neurol.,  1908,  x,  231. 


Pl.  III.     Histological  localization  of  the  cerebral  cortex  (Brodman). 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  33 

fissures  as  area  boundaries,  for  in  the  smaller  subdivisions  of  the  less 
differentiated  cortex  they  often  showed  no  boundary  correspondence, 
although  plainly  preserving  this  relation  in  the  more  differentiated 
regions  emphasized  by  Campbell. 

The  most  successful  attempt  to  define  the  significance  of  the  fissures 
in  their  variable  relation  to  the  cortical  areas  of  the  cerebrum  is  the 
work  of  Elliot  Smith. ^  The  significance  of  this  work,  or  wherein  it 
differed  from  previous  structural  localizations,  was  the  identification 
of  area  limits  in  the  fresh  brain  by  means  of  knife  section  and  macro- 
scopic examination  of  the  cut  surface.  This  permitted  a  much  greater 
amount  of  material  to  be  examined  and  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from 
the  general  or  average  relation  of  area  limits  to  fissures,  a  feature  which 
is  often  obscured  by  individual  variations  in  the  small  series  of  hemis- 
pheres necessitated  by  the  more  detailed  histological  method.  The 
accuracy  of  this  macroscopic  delimitation  of  cortical  areas,  based 
upon  abrupt  changes  in  the  mj'elo-architecture  of  the  cortex,  is  sup- 
ported by  the  general  correspondence  of  the  areas  with  those  estab- 
lished by  the  histological  method  and  the  coincidence  with  known 
functional  areas.  In  agreement  with  Campbell  and  Brodman,  Smith 
claimed  that  the  changes  in  structure  between  areas  occur  with  the 
utmost  abruptness,  which  can  most  easily  be  seen  in  the  limits  of  the 
area  striata,  making  it  possible  to  determine  with  precision  the  exact 
boundaries  of  each  area  His  conclusion  on  the  fissural  significance 
was  that  the  vast  majority  of  the  furrows  on  the  surface  of  the  hemis- 
phere present  a  definite  causal  relationship  to  some  given  cortical 
area  or  areas,  and  on  this  basis  he  constructed  a  new  type  map  of  the 
cerebral  cortex  with  the  areas  plotted  in  definite  relation  to  the  main 
fissures  as  limiting,  axial  or  operculatcd  sulci^  (Plate  IV).  The 
application  of  this  method  has  resulted  in  a  modified  phylogenetic 
interpretation  of  the  occipital  sulci  and  has  furnished  in  the  other 
regions  of  the  hemisphere  a  diagrammatic  representation  of  fissures 
in  relation  to  cortical  areas,  which  aids  greatly  in  the  identification 
and  comparison  of  different  regions  of  the  cortex  (Plate  IV). 

The  general  trend  of  all  of  this  work  upon  cerebral  localization  and 
fissural  significance,  both  physiological  and  structural,  has  been  in  a 
sense  a  return  to  the  old  idea  of  Gall  and  Spurzheim  of  a  cortical 
mozaic,  each  localized  area  ^jresumably  representing  a  distinct  or 
modified  fimction.     A  significant  difference,  however,  of  the  present 

1  A  new  topographifal  survey  of  the  huiniin  cerebral  cortex. — /.  Anat.  &  Physiol., 
'  1907,  xli,  237. 

'The  central  nervous  system. — Cunningham' s  Tcxlh.  of  Anal.,  4th  ed.,  11)14. 


.ilcu-<*aitc3fin"* 


Pl.  IV.     Type  dia2;ram  of  cortical  area  and  fissure  relation,  lateral  surface  (Smith). 


THE   INDIAN    BRAIN  35 

conception  of  cerebral  localization  is  that  it  is  established  around  a 
number  of  primary  sensory  or  motor  functions  and  areas,  with  ad- 
joining or  surrounding  localized  differentiation  of  the  primary  type 
cortex,  presumably  representing  an  elaboration  of  this  function, 
psycho-sensory  or  psycho-motor  areas;  and  finally  that  it  shows  a 
remaining  or  intervening  portion  of  less  differentiated  cortex  of  latest 
development  ontogenetically  and  phylogenetically,  the  so-called  asso- 
ciation areas  of  Flechsig.  The  extensive  comparative  work  has  shown 
that  there  is  a  similar  localization  of  function  and  structure  in  all 
mammals,  in  fact  in  the  entire  vertebrate  kingdom,  with  the  difference 
only  that  this  localization  receives  its  greatest  elaboration  and  differ- 
entiation in  the  higher  apes  and  man,  the  most  striking  feature  being 
the  great  increase  in  size  of  the  association  areas.  A  homology  of 
fissures  has  been  fairh^  well  established  from  the  lowest  mammals  to 
man  with  the  significant  deduction  that  the  main  fissures  develop 
primarily  in  the  regions  of  differentiation  of  structure  and  function, 
but  are  frequently  separated  from  this  relation  by  the  greater  tendencj^ 
of  the  fissures  to  remain  stationary,  through  their  closer  relation  to 
the  underlying  central  masses  of  the  hemisphere,  than  the  more 
plastic  and  remote  cortical  areas  which  necessarily  make  the  first 
response  to  increase  or  reduction  of  function  in  the  evolution  of  the 
brain.  ^ 

The  anthropological  significance  of  these  advances  in  cerebral  inter- 
pretation is  the  possibility,  in  fresh  and  properly  preserved  material, 
of  a  more  accurate  recognition  of  cortical  areas,  their  boundaries  and 
functions,  a  comparison  of  such  areas  by  measurements  and  the 
establishment  of  racial  and  intellectual  differences  by  this  means. 
That  this  is  not  a  hopeless  task  is  well  indicated  by  comparison  of  the 
area  striata  of  the  occipital  region  in  different  races  and  individuals, 
from  which  it  has  been  established  that  this  area  is  generally  more 
extensive  on  the  lateral  surface  of  the  negro  brain  than  the  white 
brain  and  more  extensive  in  the  left  hemisphere  than  in  the  right. - 

The  application  of  such  principles  and  methods  to  poorly  preserved 
and  hardened  material  is  necessarily  very  limited,  due  to  lack  of 
history,  to  shrinkage  and  distortion.  The  attempt  has  been  made  in 
this  series  of  Indian  brains  to  apply  this  increasing  knowledge  of 
cortical  localization  and  fissural  significance  by  superposing  the  cortical 

1  Kappers,  C.  U.  A.,  Cerebral  localization  and  the  significance  of  sulci. — Seven- 
teenth Internal.  Cong.  Med.,  1913. 

2  Smith,  G.  E.,  Morphology  of  the  human  brain. — Recs.  Egypt.  Gov't.  School  of 
Med.,  1904,  u. 


36  J.    J.    KEEGAN 

t 

plan  of  Smith^  upon  the  delineated  fissures  and  intervening  gyri  of 
each  hemisphere.  No  claim  is  made  to  represent  by  this  method  the 
exact  boundary  lines  of  very  many  cortical  areas.  The  original  plan 
is  a  small  per  cent  type  condition  deduced  from  the  study  of  negro 
brains,  to  which  it  is  more  applicable.  In  the  more  highly  developed 
brain  the  variation  and  irregularity  of  fissure  relation  to  cortical  areas 
increases  and  it  is  doubtful  if  this  method  of  interpretation  of  cortical 
areas  is  sufficiently  accurate  to  permit  valuable  comparison,  since  it 
does  not  represent  the  concealed  area  of  cortex  which  bears  the  relation 
of  about  two  to  one  of  the  superficial  cortex.  Yet  it  does  aid  in  the 
interpretation  of  fissures  in  a  uniform  manner  and  on  a  proper  basis 
and  emphasizes  the  greater  importance  of  the  gyri  as  representing 
cortical  areas.  Also  it  shows  at  a  glance,  by  comparison  with  the 
type  figure  of  Smith,  the  interpretation  of  the  fissures  without  con- 
fusing labels  and  detailed  description. 

The  plan  used  in  the  illustrations  consisted  of  the  tracing  in  ink 
of  the  fissures,  representing  by  interruption  and  intervening  dash 
the  site  of  the  more  prominent  submerged  bridging  gyri,  and  the 
plotting  of  the  areas  in  relation  to  the  fissures  which  are  generally 
recognized  as  approximate  boundaries.  In  many  regions  of  irregular 
fissuration  and  unbounded  transitional  lines  the  borders  of  the  areas 
were  more  or  less  arbitrarily  defined  and  perhaps  bear  little  relation 
to  the  exact  limits  of  the  areas.  This  necessity,  however,  in  an  at  all 
regularly  fissured  region  formed  a  relatively  small  part  of  any  single 
large  area  and  perhaps  does  not  entirely  preclude  a  remaining  com- 
parative value.  The  descriptive  part  of  the  text  is  intended  only  to 
call  attention  to  those  points  that  may  be  of  interest  in  identification 
and  comparison,  as  the  detailed  disposition  of  the  fissures  can  be 
observed  from  the  figures.  The  difference  in  size  of  the  brains,  due 
largely  to  fixation,  has  been  equalized  in  the  figures  by  reducing  all 
to  the  same  length,  which,  although  not  allowing  for  original  undeter- 
mined differences  in  size,  permits  a  better  regional  comparison. 

Indian  Brain  No.  1 

{Catalogue  No.  226552.     Plates  V  to  VIII) 

This  brain  was  from  a  full-blood  Tonto  Apache  Indian  and  of  the 
three  specimens  of  this  study  showed  the  least  distortion  from  fixation. 
However,  it  showed  considerable  flattening  on  the  superior  surface 
and  shrinkage  and  hardening  from  fixation  in  Muller's  fluid.     The 

1  The  central  nervous  system. — Cunningham's  Texth.  of  Anat.,  4th  ed.,  1914. 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  37 

weight  of  the  parts  of  the  brain,  with  the  membranes  removed  from 
the  cerebral  hemispheres,  was  as  follows: 

Right  hemisphere weight  370  gms.,  length  156  mm. 

Left  hemisphere "       385      "  "       156     " 

Brain-stem "       130     " 

Total "      885     " 

From  this  is  seen  the  great  shrinkage  that  has  taken  place,  for  there 
is  no  indication  from  the  fissuration  of  a  below  normal  brain.  The 
inequality  between  the  two  hemispheres  has  no  significance  for  it 
could  be  entirely  due  to  the  division  of  the  hemispheres  considerably 
to  the  left  of  the  midline.  The  distortion  and  great  shrinkage  reduced 
to  the  minimum  the  value  of  comparative  and  relative  measurements 
and  as  the  other  two  brains  were  in  even  more  unfavorable  condition 
very  little  attempt  has  been  made  to  record  such  measurements. 
Even  in  well-preserved  specimens  iriuch  doubt  has  been  cast  upon  the 
rationality  and  practicability  of  past  methods  of  comparison  by  the 
criticisms  of  MalP  and  Brodman,^  and  it  would  be  of  very  little  value 
to  undertake  detailed  measurement  of  poorly  defined  points  and 
distances  in  this  material. 

The  hemispheres  present  a  fairly  complex  type  of  fissuration,  there 
being  few  extensive  areas  not  incised  by  prominent  branches  of  ad- 
joining sulci.  The  complexity,  however,  and  tendency  to  transverse 
fissuration  does  not  approach  that  observed  by  Bond^  and  Schuster^ 
in  the  Chinese  brain  and  by  Hrdlicka^  in  the  Eskimo  brain.  Consider- 
able asymmetry  is  noted  between  the  two  hemispheres,  which  will 
be  discussed  in  more  detail  under  the  different  regions. 

LATERAL    SURFACE 

The  lateral  cerebral  fissure  is  similar  in  the  two  hemispheres  with 
prominent  upturned  posterior  extremity.  The  two  anterior  rami  and 
the  sulcus  diagonalis  are  very  distinct  and  widely  separated  in  the 
left  hemisphere  but  in  the  right  the  place  of  the  sulcus  diagonalis  is 
taken  by  an  apparent  ascending  ramus.     This  interpretation,  however, 

'  Anatomical  characters  of  the  human  brain. — A7n.  J.  Anal.,  1909,  ix,  1. 

*  Neue  Forschungsergebnisse  der  Grosshirnrindenanatomie. — Verh.  d.  Vers.  d. 
Naturf.  u.  Arzle  in  Wien,  1913. 

'  Observations  on  a  Chinese  brain. — Brain,  1894,  xvii. 

*  Descriptions  of  three  Chinese  brains. — J.  Anal,  dt  Physiol.,  1908-09,  xhi. 
»  An  Eskimo  brain. — Am.  Anlhropol.,  1901. 


Pl.  V.     Indian  brain  No.  1. 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  39 

can  hardly  be  made  without  deeper  examination  of  the  manner  of 
communication  with  the  main  fissure,  which  is  impossible  in  this 
specimen. 

The  sulcus  centralis  has  an  unusual  tortuosity  in  the  left  hemisphere, 
with  a  length  of  83  millimeters  as  compared  with  75  millimeters  in  the 
right.  It  crosses  the  mesial  border  in  the  left  hemisphere  but  not 
in  the  right. 

The  sulci  precentrales,  superior  and  inferior,  are  superficially  con- 
tinuous in  the  left  hemisphere  except  for  a  detached  tri-radiate  element 
near  the  mesial  border,  Cunningham's^  sulcus  precentralis  marginalis. 
This  makes  a  continuous  and  even  boundary  for  the  lower  two-thirds 
of  the  precentral  cortex  and  quite  prominent  superior  and  inferior 
genua.  In  the  right  hemisphere  the  sulcus  is  represented  by  the  three 
separate  elements.  The  gyrus  or  area  precentralis  is  notably  different 
on  the  two  sides,  especially  in  the  inferior  region  where  the  sulcus 
precentralis  inferior  is  a  generally  recognized  boundary.  This  suggests 
a  functional  difference  between  the  two  sides. 

The  sulcus  frontalis  superior  represents  excellently  the  tj-pical  dis- 
position as  three  diagonal  elements,  the  posterior  in  communication 
with  the  sulcus  precentralis  superior  and  the  anterior  possibly  inter- 
preted as  the  sulcus  frontalis  medius  in  communication  with  the 
sulcus  fronto-marginalis.  Following  the  cortical  plan  of  Smith,  the 
superior  and  anterior  frontal  areas  adjust  themselves  very  readily 
to  the  type  of  fissuration,  showing  the  widening  and  anterior  extension 
of  the  areas  as  the  mesial  border  is  approached,  with  the  extension 
of  the  anterior  frontal  area  between  the  two  posterior  elements  of  the 
sulcus  frontalis  superior.  The  similarity  of  the  fissuration  of  the 
superior  precentral  and  superior  frontal  regions  in  the  two  hemispheres 
is  noteworthy. 

The  sulcus  frontalis  inferior  is  rather  regular  in  the  left  hemisphere 
and  completely  bounds  an  inferior  frontal  area  that  agrees  almost 
exactly  in  its  fissuration  with  the  type  plan.  An  elevated  posterior 
portion  of  the  area,  incised  by  the  prominent  sulcus  diagonalis  and 
corresponding  to  the  motor  speech  center,  suggests  a  functional 
significance.  In  the  right  hemisphere  the  sulcus  frontalis  inferior  is 
more  irregular  and  unusually  high  on  the  frontal  surface,  especially 
in  the  posterior  region,  thus  giving  to  the  inferior  frontal  area  a  greater 
superficial  extent  than  in  the  left  hemisphere.  But  comparison  of 
superficial  extent  in  this  region  is  especially  liable  to  be  fallacious  on 

1  Surface  anatomy  of  the  cerebral  hemispheres. — Roy.  Irish  Acad.,  1892. 


Pl.  VI.     Indian  brain  No.  1. 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  41 

account  of  the  large  per  cent  of  cortex  concealed  in  the  superior  wall 
of  the  lateral  cerebral  fissure,  which  could  not  be  examined  in  this 
specimen. 

The  sulcus  frontalis  medius,  on  the  basis  of  the  interpretation  of  the 
three  elements  of  the  sulcus  frontalis  superior,  is  represented  only  by 
irregular  transverse  branches  or  elements. 

The  sulcus  postcentralis  in  both  hemispheres  lacks  fully  two  centi- 
meters of  reaching  the  lateral  cerebral  fissure  and  is  compensated  by 
an  unusually  large  sulcus  subcentralis  posterior.  In  the  left  hemis- 
phere it  forms  a  large  curve  concentric  with  the  prominent  superior 
genu  of  the  sulcus  centralis  at  a  distance  of  ten  to  fifteen  millimeters. 
The  course  is  much  straighter  in  the  right  hemisphere  and  at  a  distance 
of  only  five  to  seven  millimeters  from  the  sulcus  centralis,  thus  making 
a  striking  difference  in  the  width  of  the  gyrus  or  area  postcentralis  in 
this  region.  Since  the  fissures  are  rather  constant  boundaries  to  this 
cortical  area  the  great  difference  between  the  two  hemispheres  must 
have  a  functional  significance,  possibly  associated  with  right-sidedness 
in  the  body  as  the  greater  cortical  area  occurs  in  the  left  hemisphere. 

The  sulcus  interparietalis  and  the  sulcus  paroccipitalis  are  quite 
irregular  in  the  left  hemisphere  but  rather  typical  in  the  right.  This 
irregularity  may  be  associated  with  the  posterior  convexity  of  the 
sulcus  postcentralis.  It  consists  of  an  anterior  extension  of  the  sulcus 
paroccipitalis  to  within  three  millimeters  of  the  sulcus  postcentralis, 
with  very  little  indication  of  either  an  anterior  or  a  posterior  bifurca- 
tion. In  the  right  hemisphere  the  inferior  extension  of  the  anterior 
extremitj'  of  the  sulcus  interparietalis  and  the  prominent  arcuate  form 
of  the  sulcus  paroccipitalis  are  noteworth3^  The  superior  parietal 
area  presents  no  points  permitting  comparison. 

The  sulcus  lunatus  is  not  typical  in  either  hemisphere,  the  type  of 
fissuration  corresponding  more  to  the  sulcus  occipitalis  lateralis  formed 
by  a  migration  of  the  superior  half  of  the  sulcus  lunatus  to  a  position 
nearly  in  line  with  the  sulcus  prelunatus  and  a  lengthening  of  the 
sulcus  prelunatus.  It  is  difficult  to  judge  which  approaches  nearer 
to  the  arcuate  form  of  sulcus  lunatus  but  the  more  lateral  extent  of  the 
sulcus  postcalcarinus  and  consequently  the  area  striata  in  the  loft 
hemisphere  would  indicate  the  more  typical  condition. 

The  sulcus  temporalis  superior  is  a  recognized  boundary  for  the 
acoustico-psychic  cortex.  The  independence  of  the  sulcus  temporalis 
polaris  (transversus)  and  the  sulcus  angularis  (ascending  ramus)  is 
evident  in  both  hemispheres.     The  superior  temporal  gyrus  is  narrower 


Pl.  VII.     Indian  brain  No.  1. 


THE    INDIAN   BRAIN  43 

than  usual  in  its  superficial  extent.  It  shows  here,  as  in  most  brains, 
a  tendenc}^  to  a  posterior  communication  with  the  visual  cortex  by- 
bridging  or  superficial  gyri.  Flechsig^  shows  a  narrow  intervening 
area  of  cortex  in  this  region  that  myelinates  earlier  than  the  parietal 
and  temporal  association  areas  and  Smith-  a  strip  of  differentiated 
cortex.  The  same  condition  is  illustrated  by  a  special  strip  of  cortex 
along  the  superior  wall  of  the  interparietal  sulcus  connecting  between 
the  somatic  sensory  and  visual  areas  and  suggests  a  remnant  of  an 
earlier  more  direct  connection  between  these  primary  sensory  centers. 
The  location  of  the  audito-sensory  cortex,  which  just  appears  upon 
the  superficial  surface  of  the  gyrus  temporalis  superior,  can  rather 
constantly  be  determined  by  a  small  branch  of  the  lateral  cerebral 
fissure  which  represents  a  continuation  of  the  sulcus  dividing  the  two 
transverse  temporal  gyri  of  Heschl.  The  audito-psychic  area  is 
defined  below  by  the  sulcus  temporalis  superior,  anteriorly  by  the 
line  of  the  inferior  extremity  of  the  sulcus  centralis  and  posteriorly  by 
the  bifurcation  of  the  lateral  cerebral  fissure. 

The  remaining  cortex  of  the  lateral  cerebral  surface,  the  inferior 
parietal  and  the  middle  and  inferior  temporal  areas,  are  those  repre- 
senting in  myelogenesis  and  supposedly  function  the  latest  develop- 
ment in  the  evolution  of  the  cerebral  cortex,  excepting  the  frontal 
region  which  takes  an  intermediate  position  between  the  parietal  and 
temporal.  The  outline  of  the  inferior  parietal  area  is  fairly  well 
defined  by  the  boundaries  of  surrounding  more  primitive  areas.  The 
anterior  boundary  is  formed  by  the  sulcus  postcentralis  and  the  sulcus 
subcentralis  posterior  and  the  superior  by  the  sulcus  interparietalis 
and  the  sulcus  paroccipitalis.  The  inferior  limit  is  the  lateral  cerebral 
fissure  and  a  rather  constant  but  irregular  series  of  communications 
between  the  lateral  cerebral,  the  superior  and  middle  temporal,  the 
anterior  and  lateral  occipital  fissures.  The  posterior  boundary  is 
typically  the  sulcus  occipitalis  anterior  but  the  irregularity  of  this 
sulcus  often  results  in  uncertainty  of  definition.  The  typical  fissura- 
tion  of  this  inferior  parietal  area  is  well  illustrated  in  the  left  hemisphere 
of  this  brain,  the  area  being  divided  into  anterior  and  posterior  parts 
by  a  prominent  descending  branch  of  the  sulcus  interparietalis.  This 
branch,  according  to  the  maps  of  Smith,  Brodman  and  Flechsig  marks 
a  line  of  cortical  differentiation.     Cole'  has  called  attention  to  these 

'  Untcrsuchungsmcthoflon  dor  Grosshirnrinde. — Arch.  f.  Anat.  cfc  Physiol.,  1905. 

2  A  new  tf)pc)gr;iphiful  survey  of  tlie  huiinin  cerebral  cortex.  J.  Anal,  tt  Phi/siol., 
1907,  xli,  2:37. 

'On  some  morphological  asjjects  of  microcephalic  idiocy. — J.  Annt.  ,i;-  Physiol., 
1910,  xliv. 


Pl.  VIII.     Indian  brain  No.  1. 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  45 

areas,  claiming  a  predominance  of  growth  in  the  anterior  to  be  more 
characteristic  of  the  ape  brain,  and  the  opposite  in  the  highl}^  developed 
human  brain.  Comparison  of  the  two  hemispheres  shows  very  plainly 
the  greater  posterior  representation  in  the  right,  interpreting  the 
descending  branch  of  the  sulcus  interparietalis  as  the  dividing  line. 
The  boundaries  and  fissuration  of  the  frontal  and  temporal  association 
regions  are  not  definite  enough  to  permit  comparison. 

MESIAL    SURFACE 

The  sulcus  centralis  does  not  extend  to  the  mesial  surface  in  the 
right  hemisphere  and  consequently  the  extent  of  the  motor  area  in 
the  paracentral  area  is  not  well  defined.  Campbell  calls  attention 
to  a  more  or  less  horizontal  curved  sulcus  paracentralis,  suggested  as 
the  possible  homologue  of  the  sulcus  cruciatus  of  lower  mammals, 
which  is  frequently  the  inferior  and  posterior  boundary  of  the  motor 
area  in  this  region.  Smith-  shows  this  element  as  a  boundary  and 
both  are  agreed  that  the  motor  cortex  does  not  reach  the  sulcus 
cinguli.  In  the  left  hemisphere  the  boundaries  are  somewhat  better 
indicated.  The  posterior  part  of  the  sulcus  cinguli,  bounding  the 
paracentral  lobule,  is  typical  in  the  left  hemisphere  but  fails  to  incise 
the  superior  border  of  the  hemisphere  in  the  right,  bifurcating  on  the 
mesial  surface.  The  anterior  part  of  the  sulcus  cinguli  is  also  radically 
different  in  the  two  hemispheres,  but  the  correct  interpretation  of  this 
part  is  often  difficult  on  account  of  the  frequent  compensatory  relation 
it  bears  to  the  sulcus  frontalis  marginalis.  The  areas  plotted  in  this 
region  are  of  doubtful  significance. 

The  lobulus  precuneus  in  the  left  hemisphere  is  rather  typically 
divided  into  two  regions  of  cortex  by  the  horizontal  sulcus  subparietalis. 
The  posterior  part  of  the  sulcus  is  lacking  in  the  right  hemisphere. 
The  superior  part  of  the  lobule  belongs  to  the  superior  parietal  type 
of  cortex,  the  inferior  to  the  cingulate. 

The  calcarine  fissure  and  the  fossa  parieto-occipitalis  could  not  be 
examined  in  their  depth,  hence  the  prominence  of  bridging  gyri  could 
not  be  determined.  In  both  hemispheres  there  is  an  unusual  extent 
of  the  incisura  parieto-occipitalis  on  the  lateral  surface  but  no  com- 
munication with  the  sulcus  paroccipitalis.  In  the  left  hemisphere 
the  gyrus  intercuneatus,  which  separates  the  three  elements  of  the 
fossa,  is  almost  superficial  at  the  border  of  the  hemisphere. 

^  Localization  of  cerebral  function,  1905. 

2  The  central  nervous  system. — Cunningfiam's  Textb.  of  Anal. ,  1914. 


46  J.    J.    KEEGAN 

The  postcalcarine  sulcus  terminates  in  a  prominent  polar  bifurca- 
tion in  the  left  hemisphere,  more  lateral  and  more  typical  than  in 
the  right,  thus  denoting  a  greater  lateral  extent  of  the  area  striata 
in  the  left  hemisphere,  a  condition  which  may  be  considered  normal 
in  most  brains.  The  area  striata,  although  not  delimited  by  section, 
could  be  plotted  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy  due  to  its  rather  con- 
stant relation  to  the  posterior  bifurcation  of  the  sulcus  postcalcarinus. 
and  the  general  coincidence  of  its  boundary  on  the  mesial  surface 
with  shallow  superior  and  inferior  limiting  sulci  of  the  cuneus  and 
gyrus  lingualis  and  with  frequent  superior  and  inferior  polar  occipital 
sulci. 

The  fissura  rhinalis  is  entirely  independent  of  the  sulcus  collateralis 
in  both  hemispheres,  forming  a  boldly  curved  lateral  boundary  to  the 
piriform  area  and  communicating  with  the  incisura  rhinalis  of  the 
lateral  cerebral  fossa.  The  sulcus  collateralis  approaches  the  foetal 
type  with  its  short  anterior  extremity  and  irregular  posterior  portion. 

Indian  Brain  No.  II 

{Catalogue  No.  226554.     Plates  IX  to  XI) 

This  second  specimen  of  a  full-blood  Tonto  Apache  Indian  brain 
also'  was  hardened  in  Muller's  fluid  outside  of  the  cranial  cavity  and 
had  suffered  so  much  distortion  and  shrinkage  that  measurements 
would  be  of  practically  no  value.  However,  the  following  weights 
are  given  to  show  the  extreme  shrinkage  that  must  have  taken  place: 

Right  hemisphere weight  337  gms.,  length  149  mm. 

Left  hemisphere "       335      "  "       149     " 

Brain-stem "       125     " 

Total "      797     " 

The  hemispheres  presented  a  simpler  type  of  fissuration  with  broader 
and  more  regular  gyri  than  Brain  No.  I,  notwithstanding  the  smaller 
size  of  the  brain.  This  difference  is  perhaps  emphasized  to  some 
extent  in  the  figures  by  the  equalization  of  the  longitudinal  measure- 
ments. The  width  of  the  gyri  in  the  central  region  is  especially 
noticeable. 

lateral  surface 

The  lateral  cerebral  fissure  is  rather  short  in  both  hemispheres 
with  a  more  pronounced  upturned  extremity  in  the  right.  The 
anterior  limbs  are  of  the  "V"  or  beginning  "Y"  type  with  the  ramus 


1'l.  IX.     Indian  brain  No.  2. 


48  J.    J.    KEEGAN 

horizontalis  placed  rather  low,«  almost  upon  the  orbital  surface.  An 
unusual  condition  in  both  hemispheres  is  a  communication  with  all 
three  vertical  central  fissures  through  the  intermediation  of  the  sub- 
central  elements.  The  superficial  extension  of  the  sulcus  dividing 
the  two  transverse  temporal  gyri  of  Heschl  is  very  evident  in  both 
hemispheres. 

The  sulcus  centralis  communicates  with  the  lateral  cerebral  fissure 
in  both  hemispheres  through  the  sulcus  subcentralis  anterior.  It 
extends  typically  to  the  mesial  surface  on  both  sides,  with  a  much 
straighter  course  than  in  Brain  No.  I.  The  superior  genu  again  is 
more  pronounced  in  the  left  hemisphere. 

The  sulci  precentrales  are  separated  in  the  right  but  are  in  shallow 
communication  in  the  left  hemisphere.  They  are  rather  typical  of 
Cunningham's  description,  including  the  sulcus  precentralis  marginalis 
on  the  left  side.  The  gyrus  precentralis,  corresponding  to  the  area 
precentralis  in  the  lower  two-thirds,  is  of  about  uniform  width  through- 
out, only  slightly  expanded  in  the  region  of  the  superior  genu.  The 
general  size  appears  proportionately  larger  than  usual  with  a  distinct 
enlargement  of  the  lower  part  in  the  left  hemisphere  due  to  the  anterior 
convexity  of  the  sulcus  precentralis  inferior. 

The  sulcus  frontalis  superior  has  an  unusual  position  and  course 
in  the  left  hemisphere,  receding  slightly  from  the  mesial  border  towards 
the  frontal  pole,  thus  resulting  in  a  rather  wide  anterior  frontal  area 
and  narrow  middle  frontal  area.  The  definition  of  this  sulcus  as  a 
boundary  line  is  uncertain,  however.  On  the  right  side  the  more 
typical  oblique  arrangement  of  elements  is  found. 

The  sulcus  frontalis  inferior  is  continuous  in  the  left  hemisphere 
from  the  sulcus  precentralis  inferior  to  the  orbital  border.  In  the 
right  it  is  much  shorter  although  bearing  the  same  relation  to  the 
ascending  rami  of  the  lateral  fissure.  The  left  inferior  frontal  area 
consequently  is  well  defined  but  the  right  is  lacking  in  an  anterior 
superior  boundary.  The  left  ascending  ramus  of  the  lateral  cerebral 
fissure  is  situated  much  farther  anterior  than  the  right,  thus  leaving 
a  wide  posterior  inferior  frontal  area  on  this  side  which  is  incised  by  a 
sulcus  diagonalis  and  descending  branch  of  the  sulcus  frontalis  inferior. 

The  sulcus  postcentralis  is  continuous  in  both  hemispheres  from  the 
lateral  cerebral  fissure  to  a  shallow  communication  with  the  sulcus 
centralis  near  the  mesial  border.  The  gyrus  postcentralis,  corre- 
sponding in  boundaries  to  the  area  postcentralis,  is  of  greater  extent 
in  the  left  hemisphere  but  not  to  the  degree  noted  in  Brain  No.  I. 


Pl.  X.     Indian  brain  No.  2. 


50  J.    J.    KEEGAN 

The  sulcus  interparietalis  is  similar  on  the  two  sides  but  situated 
more  lateral  on  the  left.  The  descending  branch  is  quite  prominent, 
more  so  in  the  left  where  it  appears  to  compensate  for  the  short  lateral 
cerebral  fissure. 

The  sulcus  paroccipitalis  is  typical  in  the  right  but  irregular  in  the 
left  hemisphere  on  account  of  the  lateral  deflection  of  its  posterior 
part.  On  both  sides  is  to  be  noted  the  communication  with  the 
incisura  parieto-occipitalis. 

The  sulcus  lunatus  is  represented  in  both  hemispheres  in  a  stage  of 
transition  to  the  sulcus  occipitalis  lateralis  by  the  conversion  of  the 
sulcus  prelunatus  and  the  superior  half  of  the  sulcus  lunatus  into  a 
longitudinal  fissure  parallel  to  the  lateral  border  of  the  hemisphere. 
Very  little  difference  between  the  two  sides  can  be  detected  but  judg- 
ment is  complicated  by  a  partial  destruction  of  this  region  of  cortex 
in  the  left  hemisphere,  thus  leaving  the  more  easily  defined  sulcus 
lunatus  in  the  right  hemisphere.  This  is  contradicted,  however,  by 
the  more  lateral  extension  o^  the  sulcus  postcalcarinus  in  the  left 
hemisphere,  which  predicates  a  greater  lateral  extent  of  the  area 
striata  and  more  typical  sulcus  lunatus.  The  limits  of  the  area  striata 
plotted  on  this  basis,  about  a  centimeter  distant  from  the  sulcus  post- 
calcarinus and  related  to  superior  and  inferior  polar  occipital  sulci,  is 
more  restricted  to  the  mesial  surface  than  in  Brain  No.  I.  The  limits 
of  the  area  peristriata  are  approximated  to  the  sulcus  paroccipitalis, 
the  inferior  limb  of  its  posterior  bifurcation,  the  sulcus  prelunatus  and 
the  sulcus  occipitalis  inferior. 

The  sulcus  temporalis  superior  has  a  distinct  arcuate  form  limiting 
the  audito-psychic  area,  more  pronounced  in  the  right  hemisphere. 
This  increased  size  of  the  area,  combined  with  the  prominent  incising 
transverse  temporal  sulcus  of  Heschl,  suggests  a  greater  functional 
significance  than  usual.  The  sulcus  angularis  is  quite  well  developed 
but  situated  more  posterior  in  the  right  hemisphere. 

The  inferior  parietal  cortex  has  very  well  defined  boundaries  and  a 
distinct  division  into  anterior  and  posterior  areas  by  the  prominent 
descending  branch  of  the  sulcus  interparietalis.  The  entire  area 
appears  more  extensive  in  the  right  hemisphere.  The  two  subdivisions 
are  of  nearly  equal  size  in  the  left  hemisphere,  the  posterior  being 
incised  by  the  sulcus  angularis  and  limited  by  a  typical  sulcus  occipi- 
talis anterior.  In  the  right  hemisphere  the  posterior  area  is  distinctly 
the  larger,  denoted  by  the  more  anterior  position  of  the  sulcus  angularis 
and  the  presence  of  a  sulcus  intermedins,  posterior  to  this  sulcus. 


Pl.  XI.     ludiaii  l)r;iiii  No.  2. 


52  J.    J.    KEEGAN 

MESIAL    SURFACE 

The  sulcus  centralis  is  seen  on  the  mesial  surface  in  both  hemis- 
pheres and  the  motor  area  is  very  easily  plotted  in  relation  to  this 
termination  and  a  somewhat  horizontal  sulcus  paracentralis.  The 
lobulus  is  completely  bounded  by  a  typical  posterior  element  of  the 
sulcus  cinguli  which  incises  the  border  of  the  hemisphere  just  posterior 
to  the  sulcus  centralis.  The  anterior  two-thirds  of  the  sulcus  cinguli 
is  more  regular  than  in  Brain  No.  I  and  the  areas  of  this  region  can 
be  plotted  very  easily  in  correspondence  with  the  type  plan. 

The  lobulus  precuneus  presents  a  striking  difference  of  size  and 
fissuration  in  the  two  hemispheres,  the  right  being  narrow  and  the 
left  unusually  wide.  This  increased  width  is  associated  with  an 
accessory  sulcus  in  the  posterior  region,  which  deeply  incises  the 
superior  or  mesial  border  of  the  hemisphere  to  communicate  with  the 
sulcus  paroccipitalis.  This  sulcus  can  only  be  interpreted  as  a  com- 
pletely separated  sulcus  limitans  precunei  of  the  fossa  parieto-occipi- 
talis,  a  very  rare  condition. 

The  calcarine  and  parieto-occipitalis  complex  of  fissures  could  not 
be  examined  in  their  depth,  consequently  a  doubtful  interpretation  is 
necessary.  The  superficial  communication  of  the  left  sulcus  cal- 
carinus  with  the  fossa  parieto-occipitalis  is  located  fully  twice  as  far 
from  the  splenium  of  the  corpus  callosum  as  in  the  right  hemisphere, 
which  condition  must  be  associated  with  the  independent  sulcus 
limitans  precunei  interpreted  in  the  lobulus  precunei.  The  analogous 
sulcus  in  the  right  hemisphere  also  communicates  with  the  sulcus 
paroccipitalis  but  is  here  incorporated  within  the  fossa  parieto- 
occipitalis. 

The  sulcus  postcalcarinus  extends  just  to  the  occipital  pole  in  the 
right  hemisphere  and  slightly  beyond  in  the  left,  but  the  latter  termina- 
tion is  partially  destroyed  by  an  injury  to  the  cortex  in  this  region. 
The  area  striata  boundaries  are  fairly  well  indicated  by  shallow  limiting 
sulci  in  the  cuneus  and  lingual  gyrus  and  a  very  distinct  sulcus  occipi- 
talis polaris  superior  in  the  right  hemisphere  arching  around  the 
bifurcation  of  the  sulcus  postcalcarinus. 

The  fissura  rhinalis  represents  an  advanced  type  of  development 
with  complete  separation  of  the  posterior  part  from  the  incisura 
rhinalis  and  a  full  communication  with  the  sulcus  collateralis. 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  53 

Indian  Brain  No.  Ill 

{Catalogue  No.  228483.     Plates  XII  to  XIV;  Fig.  1) 

This  brain  was  from  a  full-blood  Teton  Sioux  Indian  and  formalde- 
hyde fixation  permitted  the  walls  of  the  fissures  to  be  separated  and 
examined.  However,  it  was  the  most  distorted  of  the  three  specimens 
and  in  addition  was  injured  by  a  deep  incision  in  the  lateral  surface 
of  both  hemispheres,  extending  from  the  incisura  parieto-occipitalis 
across  the  parietal  and  temporal  cortex  to  the  anterior  part  of  the 
lateral  cerebral  fissure.  The  weight  of  the  brain  was  nearer  normal 
than  the  preceding  two  as  is  seen  from  the  following  figures: 

Right  hemisphere weight  545  gms.,  length  166  mm. 

Left  hemisphere "       543      "  "       173     " 

Brain-stem "       140     " 

Total "    1,228     " 

Practically  nothing  can  be  judged  from  the  weight  concerning  the 
original  or  relative  size  of  this  brain.  The  type  of  fissuration  has  a 
peculiar  angular  appearance  due  to  late  fixation  in  the  membranes 
and  flattening  of  the  surface  of  the  gyn.  This  irregular  appeai^ance, 
however,  certainly  has  a  structural  basis  in  the  lower  central  region. 
The  complexity  of  the  fissuration  in  the  plotted  figures  does  not  appear 
greater  than  normal. 

LATERAL    SURFACE 

The  lateral  cerebral  fissure  presents  nothing  unusual  except  a 
considerable  irregularity  in  the  region  of  the  ascending  ramus  of  the 
right  hemisphere,  where  there  is  a  communication  with  a  prominent 
descending  branch  of  the  sulcus  frontalis  inferior. 

The  sulcus  centralis  hardly  reaches  the  mesial  border  in  either 
hemisphere,  although  compression  in  this  region  has  made  the  exact 
line  of  the  border  difficult  to  determine.  The  superior  and  inferior 
genua  are  accentuated,  perhaps  due  to  the  flattening  of  the  surface. 
A  communication  with  the  sulcus  precentralis  is  noted  in  the  right 
hemisphere. 

The  sulcus  precentralis  superior  is  completely  separated  from  the 
sulcus  precentralis  inferior  in  both  hemispheres  and  has  an  unusual 
length  and  course,  extending  below  into  the  gyrus  precentralis  and 
terminating  in  a  transverse  bifurcation.  The  sulcus  precentralis 
inferior  is  rather  distant  from  the  sulcus  centralis,  especially  in  the 


Pl.  XII.     Indian  brain  No.  3. 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  55 

right  hemisphere,  thus  giving  rise  to  a  wide  area  preceritralis  in  this 
region. 

The  sulcus  frontalis  superior  has  the  typical  oblique  element  dis- 
position on  both  sides,  fitting  well  with  the  antero-mesial  extension  of 
the  cortical  areas  in  this  region. 

The  sulcus  frontalis  inferior  in  the  right  hemisphere  extends  from 
the  sulcus  precentralis  inferior  to  a  veiy  prominent  anterior  bifurcation 
or  sulcus  radiatus,  but  in  the  left  hemisphere  is  separated  from  this 
transverse  part  by  a  narrow  gyrus.  A  prominent  descending  branch 
incises  the  posterior  part  of  the  inferior  frontal  gyrus  on  both  sides, 
but  takes  origin  in  the  right  hemisphere  from  the  communication  with 
the  sulcus  precentralis  inferior  and  communicates  with  the  ascending 
ramus  of  the  lateral  cerebral  fissure  and  with  the  sulcus  diagonal  is. 
The  posterior  part  of  the  inferior  frontal  area  is  smaller  in  the  right 
hemisphere.  The  pars  triangularis  is  incised  by  the  sulcus  radiatus 
in  both  cases. 

The  sulcus  postcentralis  resembles  that  of  Brain  No.  I  by  terminating 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  lateral  cerebral  fissure  and  being  com- 
pensated by  the  sulcus  subcentralis  posterior.  The  width  of  the  area 
postcentralis  is  about  Qqual  in  both  hemispheres. 

The  sulcus  interparietalis  communicates  with  the  sulcus  paroccipi- 
talis  in  the  right  hemisphere  but  not  in  the  left.  The  descending 
branch  is  of  doubtful  identity  in  both,  possiblj^  in  communication  with 
the  sulcus  angularis  on  tHe  right  side  and  as  a  short  independent 
branch  on  the  left. 

The  sulcus  paroccipitalis,  although  interrupted  by  the  deep  cut 
in  the  lateral  of  the  hemispheres,  can  be  interpreted  of  rather  tj'pical 
form  on  both  sides,  the  greatest  variation  being  the  long  arcuate  medial 
limb  of  the  posterior  bifurcation  in  the  right. 

The  sulcus  lunatus  is  completely  converted  into  the  sulcus  occipitalis 
lateralis.  A  small  arcuate  sulcus  near  the  occipital  pole  in  the  left 
hemisphere  is  interpreted,  on  account  of  its  close  relation  to  the  poster- 
ior extremity  of  the  sulcus  postcalcarinus,  as  a  lateral  limiting  sulcus 
for  the  area  striata,  not  the  sulcus  hmatus  but  a  combination  of  shallow 
elements  which  frequently  mark  the  limits  of  the  area  striata.  The 
mesial  termination  of  the  right  sulcus  postcalcarinus  and  the  extension 
of  the  sulcus  occipitalis  lateralis  nearer  to  the  occipital  pole  in  this 
hemisphere  indicate  a  smaller  lateral  extent  of  the  area  striata  than 
in  the  left. 

The  sulcus  and  gyrus  temporalis  superior  were  extensively  destroyed 


Pl.  XIII.     Indian  brain  No.  3. 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  57 

in  both  hemispheres  by  the  deep  cut  in  this  region  of  the  lateral 
surface.  In  the  right  hemisphere  a  continuous  sulcus  is  interpreted, 
extending  from  the  temporal  pole  to  a  communication  with  the  sulcus 
interparietalis  through  the  intermediation  of  the  sulcus  angularis  and 
the  descending  branch  of  the  sulcus  interparietalis.  In  the  left 
hemisphere  the  sulcus  angularis  is  situated  more  posterior  and  an 
accessory  sulcus  lies  between  it  and  the  termination  of  the  lateral 
cerebral  fissure.  This  suggests  the  greater  growth  in  the  anterior 
parietal  cortex  of  the  left  hemisphere. 

MESIAL   SURFACE 

The  left  paracentral  lobule  contains  a  horizontal  element  inter- 
preted as  the  inferior  and  posterior  boundary  of  the  motor  cortex. 
The  right  is  less  definite.  The  posterior  part  of  the  sulcus  cinguli  forms 
a  complete  posterior  and  inferior  boundary  for  the  lobule  on  both  sides, 
deeply  incising  the  superior  border  of  the  hemisphere  and  arching 
around  the  posterior  extremity  of  the  sulcus  centralis.  The  anterior 
two-thirds  of  the  sulcus  cinguli  appears  in  the  position  of  the  sulcus 
frontalis  marginalis  in  the  right  hemisphere  and  is  incomplete  in  the 
left,  thus  confusing  the  interpretation  of  the  areas  in  this  region. 

The  lobulus  precuneus  is  rather  typically  fissured  in  both  hemis- 
pheres. The  postero-superior  angle  is  incised  by  the  sulcus  liraitans 
precunei  of  the  fossa  parieto-occipitalis. 

The  fossa  parieto-occipitalis  is  very  deep  and  partly  destroyed  by  the 
cut  in  the  lateral  surface.  In  the  left  there  is  a  wide  separation  of  the 
three  elements  of  the  fossa,  the  sulcus  limitans  precunei,  the  sulcus 
incisura,  and  the  sulcus  paracalcarinus,  resulting  in  an  extension  of  the 
first  into  the  lobulus  precuneus,  an  entirely  superficial  lateral  position 
of  the  second,  and  a  deep  incision  of  the  border  of  the  hemisphere  by 
the  sulcus  paracalcarinus.  Thus  it  may  be  said  that  the  gyrus 
intercuneatus  is  superficial.  In  the  right  hemisphere  this  region, 
although  injured  to  a  greater  extent,  gave  indication  of  a  deeper 
position  of  the  elements  and  separating  gyrus  intercuneatus,  with  the 
incisura  appearing  bifurcated  on  the  lateral  surface. 

The  sulcus  calcarinus  has  a  deep  communication  with  the  fossa 
parieto-occipitalis  in  both  hemispheres,  but  an  almost  superficial 
bridging  gyrus  cuneo-lingualis  anterior  separates  it  from  the  sulcus 
postcalcarinus.  A  rather  long  anterior  extension  in  shallow  communi- 
cation with  the  hippocampal  fissure  may  be  due  in  part  to  the  artificial 
compression  of  the  lingual  gyrus. 


Pl.  XIV.     Indian  brain  No.  III. 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN 


59 


The  sulcus  postcalcarinus  is  rather  short  and  situated  nearer  the 
superior  border  of  the  hemisphere  than  usual,  but  this  may  be  due 
largely  to  the  distortion  of  the  brain.  The  posterior  bridging  gyrus 
cuneo-lingualis  is  present  but  less  prominent  than  the  anterior.  The 
posterior  termination  or  bifurcation  is  situated  fully  a  centimeter 
more  lateral  in  the  left  hemisphere  than  in  the  right.     This  agrees 


Fig.  1.     Iiuliau  brain  No.  3,  occipital  surface. 


with  the  usual  condition  and  denotes  a  more  lateral  extent  of  the 
area  striata  on  the  left  side.  The  superior  and  inferior  limiting  sulci 
of  the  area  striata  are  not  indicated  very  definitely,  the  tendency  being 
more  towards  a  transverse  disposition  of  these  shallow  elements. 
The  superior  and  inferior  polar  occipital  sulci,  bounding  the  area 
striata  at  the  borders  of  the  hemisphere,  are  both  very  distinct  in  the 
left  hemisphere. 

The  fissura  rhinalis  approaches  the  primitive  type,  having  an  appre- 
ciable communication  with  the  incisura  rhinalis  and  a  tendency  to 
separation  from  the  irregular  deflected  anterior  extremity  of  the 
sulcus  collateralis. 


60  J.    J.    KEEGAN 


Summary 


The  study  of  these  three  full-blood  Indian  brains  permits  little 
to  be  said  from  the  standpoint  of  structural  or  racial  differentiation, 
partly  due  to  the  imperfect  preservation  and  small  series  but  chiefly 
due  to  the  fact  that  few  exact  points  for  comparison  have  been  estab- 
lished in  cerebral  anthropology.  It  is  safe  to  state,  however,  that  in 
these  Indian  brains  there  is  no  discernible  difference  from  the  average 
brain  of  the  white  race.  An  observation  perhaps  also  noteworthy  is 
that  in  none  of  the  brains  is  there  a  very  close  approach  to  the  complex 
type  of  fissuration  noted  in  the  Chinese  and  Eskimo  brain  or  in  the 
most  complex  type  of  brain  of  the  white  race.  But  in  none  of  the 
brains  does  the  lateral  extent  of  the  sulcus  postcalcarinus  and  related 
area  striata  and  sulcus  lunatus  approach  the  typical  condition  fre- 
quently found  in  the  negro  brain.  The  nearest  resemblance  to  this 
condition  is  found  in  the  left  hemisphere  of  Brain  No.  I  where  a 
prominent  polar  bifurcation  of  the  sulcus  postcalcarinus  is  present. 
Associated  with  this  more  primitive  condition  in  this  brain  is  the 
foetal  or  more  primitive  type  of  the  fissura  rhinalis  in  both  hemispheres 
and  the  superficial  gyrus  intercuneatus  in  the  left  hemisphere.  Per- 
haps next  in  advance  stands  Brain  No.  Ill  with  its  intermediate  type 
of  fissura  rhinalis,  the  prominent  bridging  gyrus  cuneo-lingualis 
anterior  in  both  hemispheres,  and  the  superficial  gyrus  intercuneatus 
in  the  left  hemisphere.  Brain  No.  II,  although  characterized  by 
rather  wide  and  regular  gyri,  is  farthest  removed  from  the  low  type 
cerebrum  by  the  numerous  communication  of  fissures  usually  inde- 
pendent and  by  the  complete  fusion  of  the  posterior  part  of  the  fissura 
rhinalis  with  the  sulcus  collateralis. 

From  an  analysis  of  the  literature  on  cerebral  localization  and 
fissural  significance  and  from  the  study  of  the  negro,  Indian  and  white 
brain  from  the  standpoint  of  cerebral  anthropology,  a  few  conclusions 
concerning  the  trend  of  work  in  this  field  and  the  possibilities  for 
future  investigations  may  be  added.  Detailed  measurements  on  the 
cerebral  surface  have  not  established  constant  racial,  sexual  or  mental 
differences,  perhaps  because  of  their  fewness  as  yet  in  number,  and 
because  the  possibility  of  error  in  the  definition  and  selection  of  the 
landmarks  is  in  some  cases  greater  than  the  probable  differences  of 
race,  sex  or  mentality.  Further,  such  differences  may  be  represented 
largely  through  finer  organization  of  the  inner  structure  of  the  cortex. 
The  most  valuable  indications  of  degree  of  differentiation  have  been 
found  in  connection  with  the  extent  and  type  of  cortical  area  differen- 


THE    INDIAN    BRAIN  61 

tiation,  to  which  the  fissures  play  a  secondary  role  but  often  furnish 
superficial  evidence  through  their  recognized  relation  to  cortical  areas. 
The  most  important  example  of  this  is  found  in  the  occipital  region 
where  the  position  and  type  of  the  sulcus  lunatus  bears  a  direct  relation 
to  the  lateral  extent  of  the  area  striata  and  is  found  more  typical  in 
the  negro  brain  and  especially  in  the  left  hemisphere.  From  this  it  is 
concluded  that  future  possibility  rests  in  the  application  of  a  better 
knowledge  of  area  definition  and  extent  in  the  comparison  of  brains 
and  individual  hemispheres.  Three  methods  of  attack  of  these  prob- 
lems are  open:  first  is  the  comparison  in  the  embryo  of  the  early 
appearance  of  cortical  elevations  as  the  beginnings  of  area  differentia- 
tions; second,  a  closer  study  of  the  development  of  the  fissures  in 
relation  to  cortical  area  differentiation  to  prove  or  disprove  a  large 
part  of  the  suppositional  significance  of  fissures;  and  third,  a  com- 
parison by  exact  measurements,  particularly  of  surface  measurements 
of  the  more  primitive  and  more  differentiated  cortical  areas,  with  the 
remainder  of  the  cortex  representing  the  elaboration  and  association 
of  these  primary  functions. 

Bibliography 

Beevor  (C.  E.),  and  Horsley,  Y.—Phil.  Trans.,  1890. 
Bond  (M.) — Observations  on  a  Chinese  brain. — Brain,  1894,  xvii,  37. 
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1908,  X,  231. 

Neue    Forschungsergebnisse    der    Grosshirnrindenanatomie    mit  besonderer 

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Campbell  (A.  W.) — Histological  studies  on  the  localization  of  cerebral  function. — 4°, 
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Phtjsiol,  1910,  xuv,  315. 

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pheres.— Metn.  Roy.  Irish  Acad.,  No.  7,  4°,  Dublin,  1892. 

Eberstaller  (O.)— Das  Stirnhirn.— 8°,  Wien  &  Leipzig,  1890. 

Ferrier  (D.) — Functions  of  the  brain. — 8°,  London,  1876. 

Flechsig  (P.) — Gehirn  und  Seele. — 4°,  Leipzig,  1896. 

Developmental  localization  of  the  cerebral   cortex  in   the  human  subject. 

—Brit.  Lancet,  1901,  ii,  1027. 

Einige  Bemerkungen  uber  die  Untersuchungsmethoden  der  Grosshirnrinde, 

inbesondere  des  Menschen. — Arch.  f.  Anat.  &  Physiol.,  1905,  337. 

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Arch.  f.  Anat.  Physiol.  &  Wissen.  Med.,  1870. 
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Paris,  1810-12. 
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62  J.    J.    KEEGAN 

Hrdlicka  (A.) — An  Eskimo  Brain.     Amer.  Anthropol.,  1901,  in,  454-500;    also  8°, 

N.  Y.,  1901. 
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Intern.  Cong.  Med.,  1913. 
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according  to  race  and  sex. — Am.  J.  Anat.,  1909,  ix,  1. 
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THE   NASO-ORBITO-ALVEOLAR   INDEX 

A  New  Craniometric  Method,   Including  a  Description  of   a 
Specially  Designed  Indexometer  for  Estimating  it 

John  Cameron 
Professor  of  Anatomy,  Dalhousie  University,  Halifax,  N.  S. 

The  author  has  been  engaged  for  some  time  on  a  comparative  study 
of  measurements  of  the  facial  portion  of  the  skull,  and  after  some  ex- 
perimenting has  been  able  to  secure  results  that  appear  worthy  of 
being  placed  on  record.  He  made  a  preliminary  communication  on 
the  subject  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada  in  May,  1919,  and  since 
then  was  privileged  to  study  the  collection  of  crania  in  the  Royal 
College  of  Surgeons  Museum,  London,  England,  during  the  summer 
of  1919,  thanks  to  the  kindness  and  courtesy  of  Dr.  Arthur  Keith. 
These  investigations  inspired  the  production  of  a  specially  designed 
indexometer,  the  description  of  which  is  now  published  for  the  first 
time.  I  can  find  no  evidence  of  this  "naso-orbito-alveolar"  method 
having  been  previously  utilized  in  craniometry. 

All  the  investigations  recorded  in  this  memoir  were  conducted  on 
adult  male  crania,  the  reason  for  this  being  that  the  orbital  contours 
were  found  to  vary  with  age  and  sex  throughout  all  the  racial  types, 
where  this  comparison  could  be  made.  As  the  lower  orbital  margins 
were  utilized  for  one  of  the  horizontal  planes  in  the  research,  it  was 
therefore  found  essential  to  confine  the  study  to  one  sex.  As  soon  as 
a  representative  collection  of  female  racial  types  can  be  secured,  it 
is  intended  to  carry  out  an  independent  investigation  on  these,  along 
lines  similar  to  those  followed  in  this  research. 

Crania  of  the  following  races  were  examined:  European,  Ancient 
Egyptian,  Hindoo,  Chinese,  Eskimo,  Polynesian,  North  American 
Indian,  Ancient  Inca,  Patagonian,  African  negro,  Melanesian,  aborigi- 
nal Tasmanian,  and  aboriginal  Australian.  I  was  also  enabled, 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  to  utilize 
the  photographic  reproductions  of  the  Muniz  collection  of  ancient 
Inca  crania  in  the  IGth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology,  and  the  plates  in  Hrdlicka's  memoir  on  the  Lenapc  In- 
dians (Bull.  62,  Bur.  Amcr.  Ethn.). 

63 

Amer.  Jour.  Phts.  Anthrop.,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1. 


64  JOHN    CAMERON 

Several  of  the  well-known  types  of  fossil  Hominidse  were  also  utilized 
in  this  research.  I  have  never  had  the  privilege  of  studying  the  actual 
specimens  in  the  case  of  the  Obercassel  Cro-magnon  man,  the  "old 
man"  of  Cro-magnon,  the  LaChapelle  cranium  or  the  Grimaldi  re- 
mains, though  I  have  frequently  seen  the  Gibraltar  Skull  in  the  Royal 
College  of  Surgeons  Museum.  I  was,  however,  enabled  to  apply  my 
method  to  photographic  reproductions  of  these  taken  from  the  works 
of  Bonnet,^  Boule^  and  Verneau^  and  from  the  plates  illustrating 
Hrdlicka's  memoir  on  types  of  fossil  Hominidse.  ("The  Most  Ancient 
Skeletal  Remains  of  Man,"  2  ed.,  8°.     Smiths.  Inst.,  1916.) 

The  naso-orbito-alveolar  index  may  be  calculated  in  two  ways: 
(1)  by  drawing  certain  lines  on  photographs  of  the  skulls,  or  (2)  by 
using  the  author's  specially  designed  indexometer  (Fig.  1). 

In  regard  to  the  photographic  method,  it  was  essential  that  the 
orientation  of  the  skulls  should  be  exactly  the  same  in  all  cases,  and 
it  was  found  most  convenient  to  use  the  Frankfort  plane.  One  im- 
portant point  to  be  noted  was  that  the  relative  levels  of  the  camera 
and  the  skull  had  to  be  the  same  for  each  series  of  crania.  The  simplest 
way  to  ensure  this  was  by  focusing  the  midpoint  between  the  nasion 
and  the  akanthion  (point  of  nasal  spine)  on  to  the  intersection  of 
diagonal  lines  drawn  on  the  ground  glass  screen  of  the  camera.  Hori- 
zontal lines  were  then  drawn  through  the  following  four  points  on 
each  photograph — the  nasion,  the  lower  orbital  margins,  the  akanthion 
and  the  alveolar  point.  Two  vertical  lines  were  then  drawn  along  the 
outer  margins  of  the  nasal  aperture.  It  will  be  noted  that  three  of  the 
cranial  points  chosen  possess  a  fair  degree  of  positional  constancy,  and 
it  may  be  further  observed  that  the  plan  makes  full  use  of  the  re- 
markably constant  and  trustworthy  nasal  index.  It  may  be  mentioned 
here  that  in  the  case  of  the  LaChapelle  skull  a  small  piece  of  bone  is 
absent  from  the  region  of  the  nasion,  thus  rendering  the  localization 
of  this  point  only  approximate.  The  horizontal  line  drawn  through 
the  lower  borders  of  the  orbits  does  not  possess  so  high  a  degree  of 
constancy  as  the  others.  Moreover,  it  was  found  that  in  some  of  the 
skulls  the  lower  orbital  margins  were  not  on  the  same  horizontal 
plane,  in  which  case  the  mean  of  these  was  taken. 

When  these  lines  were  drawn  in  the  manner  indicated,  the  result 
was  an  elongated  rectangle,  with  the  long  sides  placed  vertically,  and 
subdivided  into  three  subsidiary  rectangular  areas  (see  the  illustra- 

1  Die  Naturmssenschaften,  1914,  Heft.  27. 
^Ext.  Annul.  Paloeont.,  VI,  VII  and  VIII. 
s  Les  Grottes  de  Grimaldi.     Monaco,  1906. 


THE    NASO-ORBITO-ALVEOLAR    INDEX  65 

tive  figs.)-  It  will,  therefore,  be  recognized  that  the  index  is  really 
composite  in  character,  for  one  can  calculate  the  relationship  of  the 
width  to  the  height  of  the  complete  rectangle,  or  to  the  height  of  each 
of  the  subsidiary  rectangles,  and  this  is  the  plan  that  has  been  adopted. 

It  is  to  be  particularly  noted  that  all  the  measurements  recorded 
were  made  on  the  photographic  reproductions.  It  is  essential  that 
this  fact  should  be  mentioned,  as  it  is  obvious  that  in  a  very  prog- 
nathous skull  the  nasion-alveolar  point  height  would  be  deqidedly 
less  than  the  total  aggregate  of  the  nasion-akanthion  and  the  akan- 
thion-alveolar  heights.  In  compiling  the  indices  it  was  decided  to 
follow  the  plan  of  estimating  the  nasal  index.  The  nasal  width,  which 
formed  the  foundation  of  the  whole  scheme,  was  therefore  multiplied 
by  100,  the  result  being  then  divided  by  the  height  of  each  rectangle 
in  turn. 

.The  second  method  of  estimating  the  naso-orbito-alveolar  index  is 
by  means  of  the  author's  specially  designed  Indexometer,  of  which  a 
brief  description  will  now  be  given.  It  possesses  the  merit  of  being 
readily  made  at  home  and  of  being  easily  applied.  All  that  is  required 
is  the  possession  of  two  long  and  four  shorter  pieces  of  thin,  stout  wire, 
which  are  arranged  in  the  manner  shown  in  Fig.  1.  At  each  inter- 
section a  thinner  piece  of  wire  is  twisted  lightly  round  both,  but 
sufficiently  firm  to  make  the  apparatus  hold  together  and  yet  permit 
of  the  horizontal  pieces  of  wire  being  moved  up  or  down,  and  the  verti- 
cal pieces  in  a  lateral  direction.  I  am  endeavouring  to  make  arrange- 
ments with  a  scientific  instrument  maker  to  manufacture  a  suitable 
model  of  the  indexometer  which  will  possess  a  double  sliding  joint  of 
the  close  fitting  tubular  type  at  each  intersection  of  the  wires. 

Mode  of  Application. — The  indexometer  is  placed  against  the  skull 
so  that  the  uppermost  bar  rests  against  the  nasion  and  the  lowermost 
bar  against  the  alveolar  point.  The  lower  ends  of  the  upright  wires 
of  course  rest  upon  the  table  and  thej^  require  to  be  slid  towards  or 
away  from  each  other,  until  each  lies  exactly  anterior  to  the  outer 
border  of  the  nasal  aperture.  The  intermediate  horizontal  bars  are 
then  moved  up  or  down  as  the  case  may  be  until  they  lie  exactly 
anterior  to  the  lower  orbital  margins  and  the  akanthion  respectively. 
It  is  of  course  clear  that  the  uppermost  and  lowermost  bars  are  the 
only  ones  that  are  in  actual  contact  with  the  skull.  A  little  practice 
enables  one  to  become  proficient  in  the  application  of  the  indexometer. 
The  relation  of  the  nasal  width  to  the  height  of  the  complete  rectangle 
or  to  the  height  of  each  of  the  subsidiary  rectangles  can  then  be  readily 
estimated,  as  explained  previously. 


66 


JOHN    CAMERON 


On  investigating  the  results  yielded  by  this  composite  index  in  the 
male  crania  of  the  various  racial  types  enumerated  above,  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  it  divided  races  into  two  great  groups.  The  first  group 
comprised  the  European,  ancient  Egyptian,  Hindoo,  Chinese,  Eskimo, 
Polynesian,  North  American  Indian,  ancient  Inca  and  Patagonian 


-MM^ 


1      A/a 


SiON 


owe/^ 


t^ 


"^ 


ORaiTaU 


^ 


Afa/lo/'/VS 


-^ 


AAq^Tf/ioiv 


^ 


t- 


Al 


vaoLaR 


^Ol  A^T 


T 


Fig.  1.  A  sketch  of  the  author's  naso-orbito-alveolar  Indexometer.  It  consists 
of  two  vertical  and  four  horizontal  pieces  of  stout  wire  with  a  double  sliding  joint 
at  the  eight  intersections,  so  as  to  admit  of  the  horizontal  pieces  of  wire  being  moved 
up  or  down  and  the  vertical  pieces  in  a  lateral  direction.  For  its  mode  of  apphca- 
tion  see  the  text. 


THE    NASO-ORBITO-ALVEOLAR    INDEX 


67 


racial  types,  while  the  second  group,  which  might  be  termed  the 
negro  group,  included  the  African  negro,  aboriginal  Australian,  aborigi- 
nal Tasmanian  and  Alelanesian  racial  types.  In  the  first  group 
the  height  of  the  uppermost  rectangle  was  always  greater  than  its 
width,  its  index  being  therefore  well  under  100,  while  the  two  lower 
rectangles  approximated  closely  to  the  outlines  of  squares,  their  in- 
dices being  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of  100,  sometimes  above 


C  uRoh  taiz.  Clri^ie r?  t^  ^^/ tian. 


Fig.  2.  Represents  European  and  Ancient  Egyptian  types  of  skull.  It  is  to  be 
noted  how  closely  the  relative  proportions  of  the  three  horizontal  dotted  areas  of 
the  facial  skeleton  correspond  to  each  other  in  these  two  racial  types.  It  is  to  be 
observed  further  that  the  two  lower  rectangles  in  each  case  are  approximately  squares, 
while  the  uppermost  rectangle  is  elongated  vertically. 

and  in  other  cases  below.  Moreover,  the  index  for  the  complete  rect- 
angle, that  is  to  say,  the  relation  of  the  nasal  width  to  the  nasion- 
alveolar  height,  was  as  a  rule  under  40.  In  the  Eskimo  skull  in  my 
collection  this  index  was  found  to  be  as  low  as  31.6  owing  to  the  con- 
traction of  the  nasal  width. 

In  the  second  or  Negro  group,  on  the  other  hand,  the  upper  two 
rectangles  approximated  to  the  outlines  of  squares,  their  indices  being 
somewhere  round  100,  while  the  lowermost  rectangle,  owing  to  the 
great  reduction  in  its  height  due  to  the  prognathism  in  these  races, 
exhibited  an  index  of  at  least  192.5  (African  negro),  indicating  of 
course  that  the  nasal  width  was  practically  twice  the  height  of  the 


68  JOHN    CAMERON 

lowermost  rectangle.  In  an  aboriginal  Australian  cranium  the  index 
for  this  rectangle  was  as  high  as  252.5.  Moreover,  the  index  for  the 
complete  rectangle  in  these  races  was  always  well  over  40,  that  is  to 
say,  the  nasal  width  was  in  all  cases  more  than  40  per  cent  of  the  naso- 
alveolar  height.  In  an  aboriginal  Australian  skull  it  was  as  high  as 
50.7  per  cent.  It  is  therefore  manifest  that  this  index  demarcated 
races  into  two  definite  groups,^  the  appearance  exhibited  by  the  various 
rectangles  being  illustrated  in  Figs.  2,  3,  4  and  5. 

In  Fig.  2  European  and  ancient  Egyptain  types  of  skull  have  been 
placed  side  by  side  in  order  to  demonstrate  how  closely  the  relative 
proportions  of  the  three  horizontal  areas  of  the  facial  skeleton  corre- 
spond in  these  two  racial  types.  Note  further  that  the  two  lower 
rectangles  in  each  case  are  approximately  squares,  with  indices  there- 
fore in  the  vicinity  of  100,  while  the  uppermost  rectangle  is  elongated 
vertically,  with  an  index  well  under  100  in  both  crania.  The  writer 
has  previously  referred  more  than  once^  to  the  high  type  of  index  that 
is  exhibited  in  some  ancient  Egyptian  skulls,  and  is  therefore  not 
surprised  to  find  that  the  naso-orbito-alveolar  index  consistently 
follows  these,  and  brings  the  two  racial  types  into  some  degree  of 
approximation. 

I  have  placed  the  Mongolian,  Polynesian  and  Eskimo  types  to- 
gether in  Fig.  3.  It  will  be  observed  once  more  that  the  relative  pro- 
portions of  the  three  horizontal  areas  of  the  face  and  the  outlines  of 
the  three  rectangles  correspond  more  or  less  closely  to  those  in  Fig.  2, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  Chinese  cranium.  I  utilized  the  latter 
deliberately  as  an  example  of  variation,  since  two  other  skulls  of  this 
race  that  I  examined  showed  relative  proportions  of  the  three  rect- 
angles that  conformed  to  the  European-Asiatic  type.  This  variation 
is  due  to  the  varying  levels  of  the  lower  orbital  margins  which  would  of 
course  affect  the  relative  proportions  of  the  uppermost  and  inter- 
mediate rectangles.  The  degree  of  variation  of  the  naso-orbito- 
alveolar  index  cannot  of  course  be  fully  worked  out  until  a  large 
series  of  crania  has  been  examined.  In  the  meantime  I  will  have  to 
rest  satisfied  with  the  demonstration  and  mode  of  application  of  the 
index. 

I  had  difficulty  in  deciding  where  to  place  the  Eskimo  skull  in  the 
illustrative  Figs.' for  this  paper.     As  he  has  some  Mongolian  attributes, 

>  The  zone  of  demarcation  between  these  groups  would  become  greatly  reduced 
in  an  extensive  series  of  crania. 

« Manchester  University  Museum  Publication,  No.  68,  1910;  also  Trans.  Nova 
Scotian  Inst.  Sd.,  XIV,  Pt.  1,  1916. 


THE    NASO-ORBITO-ALVEOLAR    INDEX 


69 


I  placed  him  with  the  Chinese  and  Polynesian  crania.  Owing  to  his 
contracted  nasal  aperture,  however,  he  occupies  a  definitely  isolated 
plane,  and  I  have  therefore  installed  him  in  the  upper  part  of  Fig. 
3  by  himself. 


I  n  tse. 


Oan^ 


iOlC 


Fig.  3.  Shows  Chinese,  Polynesian  and  Eskimo  types  of  skull.  The  rectangles 
of  the  Eskimo  and  Polynesian  types  of  crania  correspond  more  or  less  to  those  de- 
picted in  Fig.  2.  The  Chinese  cranium  has  been  utilized  to  demonstrate  the  fact 
.  that  the  naso-orbito-alvcolar  inde.x  has  a  consiilerable  range  of  variation. 


70 


JOHN    CAMERON 


Representatives  of  three  aboriginal  races  of  the  Western  Hemisphere 
have  been  chosen  for  Fig.  4,  which  demonstrates  that  the  relative 
proportions  both  of  the  three  horizontal  dotted  areas  of  the  facial 


'pa  fa.  o Oman 


nca 


TloRth    UtntRican 
J  ricLian 

Fig.  4.  Representation  of  the  crania  of  three  aboriginal  races  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere.  There  is  a  certain  degree  of  correspondence  in  the  relative  heights  of 
the  three  rectangles,  which  makes  them  conform  more  or  less  to  the  European- 
Asiatic  type.  The  nasion-alveolar  height  of  the  Patagonian  skull  is  an  unusual 
feature,  though  apparently  not  a  definite  character  of  this  race. 


THE    NASO-ORBITO-ALVEOLAR    INDEX 


C(^f(fcan  hiaRo    Qlojijcjinal  (lustRah^n: 


Qf?/Cr//?a 


sma/iian 


anesia/i 


Fig.  5.  Shows  that  African  negro,  aboriginal  Tasmanian,  aboriginal  Austrahan 
and  Melanesian  types  of  skulls  give  corresponding  results  when  studied  by  means 
of  this  index.  The  two  upper  rectangles  are  approximately  squares,  while  the  lower- 
most show  an  extreme  degree  of  reduction  of  their  heights,  due  of  course  to  the  prog- 
nathism in  these  races.  These  crania  thus  display  a  marked  contrast  to  those  of 
the  Euro-Asiatic  type. 


72  JOHN    CAMERON 

skeleton  and  of  the  three  rectangles  conform  more  or  less  to  the  general 
European-Asiatic  form,  or  what  might  be  termed  the  Eurasiatic  type. 
I  was  much  struck  by  the  amount  of  the  nasion-alveolar  point  height 
in  the  Patagonian  skull.  An  examination  of  this  cranial  group  in  the 
Royal  College  of  Surgeons  Museum,  however,  demonstrated  the  fact 
that  this  did  not  appear  to  be  a  characteristic  racial  feature. 

The  inter-racial  range  of  variation  in  the  relative  sizes  of  the  three 
rectangles  was  such  that  the  Eurasiatic  races,  the  Polynesians  and  the 
aborigines  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  were  practically  on  the  same 
level.  Thus  it  appears  as  if  the  Eurasiatic  types  could  be  linked  by 
this  craniometric  method  with  both  the  American  Aborigines  and  the 
Polynesians.  In  a  previous  communication^  the  writer  has  referred 
to  the  fact  that  the  crania  of  the  aborigines  of  the  Western  Hemisphere 
betray  some  Mongoloid  affinities,  and  a  link  with  the  yellow-brown 
Mongol  of  Asia  is  also  provided  by  the  Polynesians  of  the  Pacific. 
In  reference  to  this  fact  it  is  important  to  quote  Hrdlicka's  remarks  on 
p.  183  of  Bulletin  N6.  52  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology^: 
"This  general  American  type  is  more  or  less  related  to  that  of  the 
yellow-brown  peoples,  wherever  these  are  found  without  decided  ad- 
mixture with  other  strains.  These  yellow-brown  people,  including 
the  American,  represent  one  great  stream  of  humanity." 

Fig.  5  demonstrates  the  fact  that  the  naso-orbito-alveolar  index 
placed  the  African  negro,  the  aboriginal  Tasmanian,  the  aboriginal 
Australian  and  the  Melanesian  on  the  same  plane.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  how  the  uppermost  and  intermediate  rectangles  approximate 
in  all  four  cases  to  the  outlines  of  squares,  and  are  therefore  about 
,  equal  in  size,  their  indices  being  somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of  100. 
The  great  feature  of  Fig.  5  is,  however,  the  great  reduction  in  the 
height  of  the  lowermost  rectangle,  due,  as  previously  explained,  to  the 
high  degree  of  prognathism  in  these  races.  The  index  for  it  was  there- 
fore about  200  or  even  much  more  (192.5  in  the  African  negro,  199.9 
in  the  aboriginal  Tasmanian,  234.5  in  the  Melanesian  and  as  high  as 
252.5  in  an  aboriginal  Australian),  indicating  of  course  that  its  height 
was  about  one  half  its  breadth — in  some  cases  much  less. 

THE    CRANIA    OF    FOSSIL    HOMINID^ 

On  comparing  Fig.  5  with  Fig.  6,  it  is  evident  that  the  cranium  of 
the  Grimaldi  youth  exhibited  fairly  consistently  the  characteristics  of 

1  Trans.  Nova  Scolian  Instil.  Sci.,  Vol.  XV,  Pt.  1,  1919. 

2  Early  Man  in  South  America,  8°,  1912.  See  also  his  "Genesis  of  The  American 
Indian,"  Proc.  XIX  Intern.  Cong.  Amer.-,  Wash.,  1917. 


THE    NASO-ORBITO-ALVEOLAR    INDEX 


73 


GrIm aldi  youth       (olcficassd  Go-^aQjion 


J,o  Cnahille,  (Jlcahde/^t/iql-MousteRian^ 


Fig.  6.  Tracings  of  the  Grimaldi  skull  (Verneau),  the  Obercassel  skull  (Bonnet), 
and  the  La  Chapelle  cranium  (Boule). 

The  Grimaldi  skull  shows  the  Negro  type  index.  In  the  Obercassel  specimen  the 
index  conforms  fairly  with  that  of  the  Euro-Asiatic  type.  The  Cro-Magnon  race 
represents  the  only  example  of  fossil  Hominida?  amongst  those  examined  that  could 
with  safety  be  placed  in  the  Eurasiatic  category.  In  the  La  Chapelle  skull  it  will 
be  observed  that  the  three  rectangles  are  quite  different  from  those  of  the  racial 
types  represented  in  Figs.  2  to  5. 


74  JOHN    CAMERON 

the  negro  naso-orbito-alveolar  index.  He  could  therefore  be  definitely 
placed  in  his  appropriate  racial  position.  The  indices  for  the  upper- 
most and  intermediate  rectangles  of  his  skull  were  approximately 
100,  while  that  for  his  lowermost  rectangle  was  found  to  be  as  high  as 
233.3 — that  is  to  say,  practically  the  same  as  that  for  the  modern 
Melanesian  skull  cited  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 

The  skulls  of  the  Obercassel  Cro-magnon  man  (Fig.  66)  and  of  the 
"old  man"  of  Cro-magnon,  were  the  only  cranial  types  of  fossil 
Hominidse  amongst  those  examined  that  could  be  safely  placed  in  the 
Eurasiatic  category.  A  study  of  Fig.  66  will  demonstrate  the  fact 
that  the  relative  proportions  of  the  three  horizontal  dotted  areas  of 
the  Obercassel  facial  skeleton  conform  more  or  less  to  those  of  the 
general  European-Asiatic  type,  while  the  indices  for  the  three  rect- 
angles likewise  consistently  follow  this  result. 

The  application  of  the  naso-orbito-alveolar  index  to  the  La  Chapelle 
and  Gibralter  crania,  representing  Neanderthal-Mousterian  man, 
provided  some  interesting  results.  The  great  nasal  width  of  these 
two  crania  seemed  at  first  sight  to  render  them  comparable,  to  those 
of  the  modern  negro  type,  but  the  height  of  the  lowermost  rectangle 
in  both  instances  at  once  negatived  this  impression  (Fig.  6c).  On 
examining  this  figure  it  will  be  noted  that  the  three  horizontal  dotted 
areas  of  the  La  Chapelle  skull  were  almost  equal  in  height,  which 
rendered  it  quite  different  from  the  modern  European-Asiatic  type  or 
the  modern  negro  type.  Moreover  the  three  rectangles  were  also 
quite  different  from  those  of  the  modern  racial  types,  for  all  three 
were  approximately  equal  in  size  and  were  transversely  elongated 
owing  to  the  great  nasal  width.  It  is  thus  clear  that  the  Neanderthal- 
Mousterian  type  of  skull  is  one  that  does  not  exist  at  the  present  day. 

ENUMERATION  OF  THE  VARIOUS  MODES  OF  APPLICATION   OF  THE  NASO- 
ORBITO-ALVEOLAR   INDEX 

1.  Calculate  the  relation  of  the  nasal  width  to  the  height  of  the 
complete  rectangle,  that  is  to  say,  the  relation  of  the  nasal  width  to 
the  nasion-alveolar  height. 

2.  Calculate  the  relation  of  the  nasal  width  to  the  height  of  each 
of  the  three  subsidiary  rectangles. 

3.  Calculate  the  relation  of  the  square  area  of  the  three  subsidiary 
rectangles  to  each  other.  For  this  investigation  the  crania  would 
all  have  to  be  photographed  to  the  same  scale  of  reduction. 

4.  The  relative  proportions  of  the  three  horizontal  areas  of  the 


THE   NASO-ORBITO-ALVEOLAR    INDEX 


75 


-l-> 


d 

TS 


o  a 

■i:   o 

o3    o3 


v^ 


2 


76  JOHN    CAMERON 

facial  skeleton  mapped  out  in  Figs.  2  to  6  could  be  studied.  This 
investigation  might  be  regarded  as  accessory  to  the  estimation  of  the 
naso-orbito-alveolar  index,  and  so  far  as  I  have  been  enabled  to  de- 
termine, promises  to  provide  a  new  and  fruitful  field  of  research. 

In  concluding  this  paper  which  is  to  be  regarded  entirely  as  a  pre- 
liminary announcement  owing  to  the  comparatively  small  series  of 
crania  examined,  and  the  vast  issues  that  have  been  introduced,  I 
wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  all  the  conclusions  arrived  at  have  been 
based  entirely  on  this  one  ''naso-orbito-alveolar"  craniometric 
method.  It  is  quite  obvious  that  one  cannot  depend  upon  it  alone  as 
a  means  of  classifying  mankind.  Still,  its  value  as  a  further  means 
of  studying  the  cranium  appears  to  present  certain  possibilities. 
Another  reason  for  this  publication  is  that  it  may  stimulate  further 
study  of  the  comparatively  neglected  norma  frontalis  of  the  skull. 


ASPECTS  OF  THE  SKULL:  HOW  SHALL  THEY  BE  REPRE- 
SENTED? 

GEORGE   GRANT  MACCURDY 

Peabody  Museum,  Yale  University 

One  of  the  chief  handicaps  of  physical  anthropology  has  been  hither- 
to lack  of  unity  in  mode  of  procedure.  This  is  particularlj^  true  of 
anthropometry  and  osteometry.  In  order  that  the  records  of  each 
observer  may  be  readily  made  use  of  by  every  other  observer,  it 
is  imperative  that  series  of  measures  be  uniform  and  be  taken  in 
uniform  ways. 

Many  authors  have  contributed  to  our  knowledge  of  these  subjects. 
Under  the  leadership  of  Broca,  the  French  developed  a  method  that 
has  had  a  very  wide  influence.  In  the  so-called  Frankfort  Agreement, 
German  anthropologists  took  an  important  step  in  the  direction  of 
unification.  It  remained,  however,  for  the  International  Congress 
of  Prehistoric  Anthropology  and  Archeology  held  at  Monaco  in  1906 
to  place  the  matter  of  unification  on  an  international  basis. 

At  Monaco  the  International  Commission  agreed  upon  twenty- 
four  measures  of  the  cranium,  eight  of  the  lower  jaw,  and  twenty- 
one  of  the  head.  At  the  next  session  of  the  Congress  held  in  Geneva 
in  1912,  a  reconstituted  International  Commission  agreed  upon  forty- 
nine  additional  measures  of  the  living  subject. 

It  also  adopted  a  technique  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  height  by 
the  aid  of  the  long  bones;  and  passed  a  resolution  that  for  the  graphic 
representation  of  skulls,  anthropologists  employ  the  horizontal  plane 
either  of  Broca  or  of  the  Frankfort  Agreement. 

There  remain  for  consideration  at  some  future  Congress  measures 
of  the  skeleton  in  general,  exclusive  of  the  cranium  and  lower  jaw. 

There  is  another  matter  which  it  seems  to  me  might  well  engage 
the  attention  of  some  future  international  commission;  namely,  an 
agreement  as  to  what  attitudes  to  give  the  skull  in  representing  its 
five  aspects:  norma  frontalis,  lateralis,  occipitalis,  verticalis,  and 
basilaris. 

For  the  front  view  of  the  cranium  there  is  but  one  logical  attitude; 
namely,  the  vertex  up.     With  this  there  is  already  universal  agree- 

77 

Amer.  Jo0r.  Phyh.  A.vthrop.,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1. 


78  GEORGE  GRANT  MACCURDY 

ment  in  practice.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  rear  or  occipital 
aspect. 

For  the  lateral  aspect,  while  the  rule  of  vertex  up  is  universally 
followed,  the  skull  may  be  and  is  made  to  face  to  the  left  or  to  the 
right — to  show  either  its  left  side,  or  its  right  side.  Would  it  not  be 
well  to  agree  as  to  which  of  these  two  attitudes  is  preferable?  The 
writer  proposes  that  the  left  side  be  chosen  for  two  reasons.  In  the 
first  place,  in  paired  measures  it  is  already  the  rule  to  take  the  measures 
on  the  left  side;  in  the  second  place,  by  making  the  skull  face  to  the 
left  is  to  follow  the  rule  of  the  printed  page,  which  one  reads  from  left 
to  right;  and  finally  this  position  gives  us  a  more  natural  position  of 
the  teeth.  Exceptions  to  this  proposed  rule  might  justly  be  claimed 
in  cases  where  one  wished  to  present  some  special  feature  which 
occured  on  the  right  side  only. 

The  problem  of  choosing  the  correct  attitude  for  the  top  or  verti- 
cal view  is  still  more  complicated.  There  are  four  possible  attitudes: 
face  up,  face  down,  face  to  the  left,  and  face  to  the  right.  In  all 
four  positions  the  vertical  axis  would  of  course  be  at  right  angles  to 
whichever  of  the  two  horizontal  planes  one  might  select.  Since  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  the  skull  has  bilateral  symmetry,  both  sides 
should  be  given  an  equal  chance  for  self-expression.  This  can  be 
accomplished  only  by  preserving  the  bilateral  integrity  of  the  figure; 
in  other  words,  by  placing  the  face  either  up  or  down. 

Is  there  a  choice  between  these  two  attitudes? 

Most  certainly  there  is.  The  face  is  the  front  and  should  be  first. 
The  position  of  the  first  is  at  the  top  not  at  the  bottom.  Therefore, 
in  the  norma  verticalis  of  the  cranium,  the  face  should  be  at  the  top. 
There  are,  moreover,  two  other  valid  reasons  for  selecting  this  atti- 
tude. It  brings  the  right  side  of  the  skull  on  the  right  side  of  the 
page  and  the  left  side  on  the  left.  In  the  second  place,  the  cranium 
gives  the  appearance  of  being  in  more  nearly  stable  equilibrium  when 
resting  on  the  occipital  bone  than  when  resting  on  the  nose,  the  alveolar 
margin,  or  even  on  the  brow  ridge.  The  correct  attitude  for  the 
norma  verticalis  then  is  face  up. 

What  do  we  find  in  actual  practice?  Authors  have  made  use  of 
all  four  possible  attitudes  at  random,  sometimes  employing  more 
than  one  attitude  in  the  same  work.  As  a  rule,  however,  after  choos- 
ing a  given  attitude,  the  author  sticks  to  it  throughout  the  publication. 
Thus  Broca  (Instructions  Craniologiques),  R.  Virchow  (Crania  Ethnica 
Americana),  de  Quatrefages  and  Hamy  (Crania  Ethnica),  Topinard, 


ASPECTS    OF    THE    SKULL  79 

Sir  William  Flower  {J.  A.  I.,  X,  157,  1880),  Harrison  Allen,  Martin, 
and  Hrdlicka,  to  mention  only  a  few  autriors,  place  the  face  down. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  at  least  certain  works  of  Sir  William  Turner 
(Challenger  Reports),  W.  L.  H.  Duckworth  (Anthropology  and 
Morphology),  Eugene  Pittard  (Crania  Helvetica),  Rivet,  E.  A. 
Spitzka,  and  A.  Keith  the  face-up  attitude  of  the  vertical  aspect  is 
chosen.  These  two  lists  are  sufficiently  long  to  show  the  need  for 
unification. 

Once  the  attitude  for  the  norma  verticalis  is  agreed  upon,  it  should 
not  be  difficult  to  unite  upon  the  correct  attitude  for  the  basal  aspect 
of  the  cranium;  for  if  the  face-up  attitude  is  correct  in  the  one  case, 
it  must  be  also'  in  the  other  case.  Here  again  the  practice  has  been 
as  divergent  as  it  was  in  respect  to  the  vertical  aspect.  Those  who 
choose  the  face-up  attitude  for  the  latter  are  generally  consistent 
and  place  the  norma  basilaris  face  up  also,  and  vice  versa.  On  the 
other  hand,  some  authors  are  not  even  consistent,  but  alternate  be- 
tween the  two  attitudes. 

Having  fixed  upon  the  face-up  attitude  for  both  the  vertical  and 
basal  aspects  of  the  cranium,  it  follows  naturally  that  in  illustrating 
crania  sectioned  transversely  the  same  attitude  should  be  employed, 
no  matter  whether  one  is  viewing  the  floor  or  the  vault  of  the  endo- 
cranium.  Here  again  in  practice  there  is  both  inconsistency  and 
diversity.  For  example,  for  the  vertical  and  basal  aspects  of  the 
cranium  as  a  whole,  Broca  turns  the  face  down  (incorrect),  but  in 
his  illustration  of  the  floor  of  the  endocranium  the  face  is  turned  up 
(correct).  In  the  Handatlas  of  His  and  Spalteholz,  the  face  is  turned 
up  (correct)  in  the  figure  of  the  floor  of  the  endocranium,  while  in 
that  of  the  vault  of  the  endocranium  it  is  turned  down  (incorrect  and 
inconsistent).  In  this  work  both  the  norma  verticalis  and  the  norma 
basilaris  of  the  entire  cranium  are  correct  (face  up). 

It  often  happens  that  a  basal  view  (hard  palate)  of  the  upper  jaw 
alone  is  wanted.  In  such  a  case,  there  should  be  no  hesitancy  in 
selecting  the  same  attitude  it  would  have  if  attached  to  the  cranium; 
namely,  the  face-up  attitude,  which  happens  to  be  the  one  suggesting 
the  more  stable  equilibrium.  Notwithstanding,  some  authors  do 
just  the  opposite  thing,  especially  those  who  arc  in  the  habit  of  turn- 
ing the  cranium  face  down. 

What  is  true  of  the  upper  maxilla  is  likewise  true  of  the  lower  jaw. 
It  should  be  represented  in  the  same  position  it  would  have  if  in  natural 
contact  with  the  cranium.     It  should  rest  on  the  condyles  and  angles 


80 


GEORGE    GRANT   MACCURDY 


with  the  chin  (symphysis)  up  for  both  the  basal  and  the  alveolar  as- 
pect. With  its  lateral  aspect,  chin  to  the  left  would  take  precedence 
over  chin  to  the  right. 

That  which  is  good  form  for  the  brain  case  is  also  good  form  for 


fK  T- 


The  Five  Aspects  of  a  Skull  from  the  Rh6ne  Valley,  Switzerland.     Hori- 
zontal plane  of  Broca.     (After  Eugene  Pittard.) 


ASPECTS    OF    THE    SKULL  81 

the  brain.  It  should  be  allowed  to  assume  the  same  attitudes  it 
would  have  if  kept  unmolested  in  the  cranium. 

For  the  skull  as  well  as  the  brain,  or  even  the  dissected  head,  a 
simple  rule  of  procedure  may  be  expressed  as  follows:  Vertex  up,  face 
to  the  left,  face  or  front  up. 

If  this  rule  is  a  good  one  for  anthropologists  to  follow,  there  is  no 
valid  reason  why  it  should  not  be  followed  likewise  by  zoologists  and 
paleontologists,  especially  where  the  requirements  are  similar  to  those 
in  man. 

In  respect  to  the  rest  of  the  skeleton,  the  same  general  rule  should 
hold.  If  so,  then  there  is  need  of  unification  of  practice  both  past 
and  present. 

In  so  far  at  least  as  the  genus  Homo  is  concerned,  this  would  mean 
that  segments  of  the  skeleton  or  disarticulated  bones  should  be  repre- 
sented in  the  attitude  they  would  have  if  articulated,  that  is  to  say, 
in  their  normal  position  in  life.  The  clavicle  would  thus  be  represented 
in  a  horizontal  position,  limb  bones  in  a  vertical  position.  If  any  other 
than  a  superior-surface-up  attitude  is  required  for  a  vertebra,  for  ex- 
ample, it  should  be  represented  with  the  anter,ior  aspect  up  and  the 
posterior  aspect  down,  no  matter  whether  the  view  be  from  above  or 
from  below.  Or  if  a  segment  including  vertebra,  ribs,  and  sternal 
junction  be  represented,  the  ventral  or  front  portion  should  be  up 
and  the  dorsal  down. 

When  it  comes  to  the  hands  and  feet,  valid  arguments  may  be 
adduced  for  two  opposite  attitudes.  It  might  be  well,  therefore, 
to  employ  each  under  given  conditions.  When  the  hand  or  foot 
bones  are  shown  in  connection  with  the  lower  arm  or  leg  bones,  let  the 
phalanges  point  downward.  This  would  be  in  conformity  with  a 
previously  formulated  general  rule.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  arti- 
culated bones  of  the  foot  alone  be  shown,  let  it  be  with  the  toes  up 
and  the  heel  down,  both  for  the  sole  aspect  and  the  reverse.  This 
would  be  following  the  rule  that  the  front  should  take  precedence 
over  the  back.  The  same  attitude  might  well  be  chosen  for  the  articu- 
lated bones  of  the  hand  alone;  since  this  would  be  in  conformity  with 
the  attitude  selected  for  the  articulated  foot  bones  and  would  have 
the  added  advantage  of  making  it  possible  for  an  observer  to  orient 
his  own  hand  with  the  figures  on  the  printed  page,  thus  immensely 
facilitating  comparison  and  observation. 


MULTIPLE  BIRTHS   AMONG  THE   CHINESE 

BERTHOLD  LAUFER 

Field  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Chicago 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Chinese  Annals  contain  not  only  records  of  human  events,  but 
also  of  unusual  natural  phenomena  which  left  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  minds  of  the  contemporaries.  In  the  early  days  of  historiography, 
when  occurrences  were  chronicled  day  by  daj^  and  year  by  year,  the 
two  categories  of  human  and  natural  events  were  noted  indiscrimi- 
nately, merely  in  the  chronological  succession  as  they  happened.  In 
the  introduction  to  the  Shu  king  we  read,  for  instance,  "The  king's 
uncle,  the  prince  of  T'ang,  found  ahead  of  grain,  two  stalks  in  different 
plots  of  ground  growing  into  one  ear,  and  presented  it  to  the  king." 
In  the  Bamboo  Annals  (Chu  shu  ki  nien)  this  feature  is  still  more 
conspicuous:  solar  eclipses,  meteoric  falls,  earthquakes,  droughts,  ex- 
traordinary phenomena  in  the  growth  of  trees,  appearance  of  a  fung- 
hwang  (so-called  phoenix),  rain  of  particles  of  earth,  unusual  thunder- 
storms, and  other  phenomena  are  there  on  record,  being  interspersed 
with  the  record  of  imperial  and  military  affairs.  Beginning  from  the 
Annals  of  the  Former  Han  Dynasty  {TsHen  Han  shu),  a  novel  depart- 
ure from  the  old  practice  was  instituted  in  as  much  as  the  natural 
events  were  detached  from  the  general  narrative  to  be  relegated  to  a 
special  section,  entitled  "Records  relating  to  the  Five  Elements" 
(Wu  king  chi).  The  majority  of  official  annals  has  adopted  this 
practice.  These  chapters  contain  most  interesting  information,  not 
for  the  historian,  but  for  the  scientist,  and  therefore  merit  close  study. 
They  give  detailed  lists,  with  exact  reference  to  date  and  place,  of 
great  catastrophes,  such  as  famines,  droughts,  locust-pests,  inunda- 
tions, hail-storms,  landslides,  earthquakes,  conflagrations,  excessive 
cold,  electric  storms  in  the  winter,  etc.,  abnormal  phenomena  and 
monstrosities  in  domestic  animals. and  human  beings,  cases  of  insanity, 
abnormal  customs  and  practises,  etc.  It  is  to  this  department  of 
records  that  we  owe  our  principal  information  on  a  subject  which  has 
not  yet  been  discussed, — the  frequency  of  multiple  births  among  the 

Chinese.    . 

83 

Amer.  Jour.  Phys.  Anthrop.,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1. 


84  BERTHOLD    LAUFER 

In  ancient  times,  under  the  Chou  dynasty,  the  officer  presiding  over 
the  people  (se  min)  was  obliged  to  keep  a  register  of  the  population. 
All  individuals  were  recorded  from  the  age  when  the  teeth  appear. 
A  separate  count  was  taken  of  males  and  females;  every  year,  the 
number  of  births  was  added,  while  the  number  of  dead  was  taken  off 
the  register  (cf.  E.  Biot,  Le  Tcheou-li,  Vol.  II,  p.  353).  We  cannot 
but  regret  that  documents  of  this  character  have  not  survived.  No 
allusion  to  twins  or  other  plural  births  is  made  at  that  period. 

The  chapters  Wu  hing  chi  of  the  two  Han  Annals  contain  no  records 
of  multiple  births.  The  Wei  shu  gives  a  single  case  of  a  quadruplet 
birth.  Triplets,  but  only  two  cases,  are  first  recorded  in  the  Books 
of  the  Tang  Dynasty,  and  there  is  a  long  list  of  them  under  the  follow- 
ing Sung  dynasty.  There  is  one  case  of  triplets  of  early  date,  not  on 
record  in  the  Annals,  but  in  the  Sou  shen  ki,  written  by  Yii  Pao  in  the 
early  part  of  the  fourth  century,  who  reports  that  "in  a.d.  243  there 
was  a  woman  who  gave  birth  to  three  sons."  I  have  not  embodied 
this  case  in  my  statistical  review  of  the  matter,  as  the  work  in  question 
is  a  Taoist  book  of  marvels,  and  as  the  extant  edition  presents  merely 
a  retrospective  make-up  (cf.  Wylie,  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature, 
p.  192). 

While  triplet  and  quadruplet  births  are  mentioned  in  the  Annals 
with  comparative  frequency,  they  hardly  trouble  about  twins,  save 
a  few  cases  of  united  twins.  This  omission  may  indicate  one  of  two 
possibilities:  either  twin-births  were  too  common  to  attract  much 
attention,  or  were  too  rare  to  be  worthy  of  notice.  This  alternative 
cannot  be  decided  without  a  solid  foundation  of  statistical  material, 
which  unfortunately  we  do  not  have.  At  the  outset  I  am  not  dis- 
posed to  assume,  on  a  merely  empirical  basis,  a  high  degree  of  fecundity 
of  the  Chinese  woman  or  a  relative  frequency  of  twins;  for  it  is  a 
common  experience  of  our  time  that  personal  opinions  and  impressions 
along  this  line  are  seldom,  if  ever,  upheld  by  the  results  of  statistical 
research.  Restraint  in  this  case  is  the  more  commendable,  as  in 
regard  to  twin-births  in  Annam  we  have  the  following  observation  of 
Dr.  A.-T.  Mondiere  ("Monographie  de  la  femme  annamite,"  Memoires 
de  la  Societe  d'anthropologie,  II,  1875,  p.  474):  "Les  grossesses  doubles 
sont  excessivement  rares  chez  la  femme  annamite.  Sur  les  153174 
naissances  que  j'ai  relevees  sur  les  cahiers  des  villages  de  toute  la 
Cochinchine  de  1872  a  1877  inclus,  je  n'ai  trouve  que  15  accouche- 
ments  de  jumeaux.  Soit  1  sur  10211  naissances.  De  plus,  un 
arrondissement  particulier,  celui  de  Bentre,  semble  avoir  ce  privilege, 


MULTIPLE    BIRTHS   AMONG    THE    CHINESE  »0 

car  sur  15  accouchements  gemellaires  il  en  a  9  a  lui  seul,  c'est-a-dire 
60  pour  100.  Les  six  autres  arrondissements  (sur  19)  qui  en  ont 
presente:  Bien-hoa,  Chau-Doc,  Saigon,  Soctrang,  Tan-an,  Tay-ninh, 
n'en  ont  eu  chacun  qu'un  seul  cas,  en  ces  six  annees.  D'apres  ce  que 
les  autorites  cambodgiennes  m'ont  declare,  les  jumeaux  seraient  plus 
frequents  chez  eux,  et  d'une  fagon  assez  sensible,  mais  ils  n'ont  pu  me 
fournir  de  chiffre  exact." 

A  real  investigation  of  the  problem  in  question  is  impossible  for  the 
present,  as  we  lack  any  vital  statistics  for  the  Chinese  Republic. 
Nevertheless  I  venture  to  hope  that  the  facts  and  observations  given 
below  will  be  of  some  interest  to  anthropologists.  In  order  to  critically 
balance  the  data  furnished  by  the  Chinese  Annals,  it  would  be  indis- 
pensable to  have  reliable  birth  statistics  for  China,  to  know  the  birth- 
rate for  the  different  provinces,  and  to  depend  on  good  records  showing 
the  total  number  of  plural  births  for  at  least  a  decade.  In  default  of 
such  material  in  the  mother-country  I  anticipated  to  receive  at  least 
some  data  from  those  countries  outside  of  China  with  a  large  Chinese 
population,  although  it  must  be  taken  into  account  that  social  and 
economic  conditions  of  the  Chinese  abroad  are  different  and  that, 
above  all,  Chinese  emigrants  hardly  ever  take  their  families  along, 
but  intermarry,  when  settled,  with  women  of  other  nationalities. 
I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  obtain  relevant  statistics  from  the  British, 
French  and  Dutch  colonies;  but  what'  I  have  found  thus  far  is  not 
very  encouraging.  The  Birth  Statistics  for  the  Registration  Area 
of  the  United  States  for  1915  (Washington,  1917)  give  a  total  of  74 
births  (33  males  and  41  females)  among  the  Chinese  for  that  j^ear, 
but  nought  else. 

According  to  a  communication  of  Dr.  William  H.  Davis,  chief 
statistician  in  the  Bureau  of  Census,  Washington,  D.  C,  there  were, 
in  the  years  1915-17,  309  births  among  the  Chinese  in  the  registration 
area  for  births  in  the  United  States  (California  not  being  admitted  to 
the  registration  area  is  not  included),  only  one  pair  of  twins  appearing 
in  this  total.  The  State  of  California  gives  in  its  vital  statistics  only 
the  number  of  births  and  deaths  of  its  Chinese  populace,  without 
touching  the  question  of  plural  births.  In  1916  there  were  425  births 
(compared  with  727  cases  of  death);  in  1917,  419  births  (compared 
with  818  cases  of  death)  among  the  Chinese  of  California  (Twenty- 
Fifth  Biennial  Report  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  California  for  the 
Fiscal  Years  from  July  1,  1916,  to  June  30,  1918,  Sacramento,  1918, 
pp.  201,  203,  205,  207,  224).     The  statistics  of  Mexico  contain  merely 


86  BERTHOLD    LAUFER 

the  number  of  Chinese  living  in  the  various  provinces,  the  total,  as 
taken  in  the  third  and  last  census  of  1910,  being  13,118  men  and  85 
women  =  13,203  (Estados  Unidos  Mexicanos,  Boletin  de  la  Direccion 
General  de  Estadistica,  Num.  5,  p.  37,  Mexico,  1914),  but  no  tables  of 
births. 

A  literal  translation  of  all  cases  of  triplet  and  quadruplet  births, 
as  they  are  chronicled  in  the  Annals,  has  been  prepared  by  me.  In 
every  case,  the  exact  date,  the  name  of  the  family,  the  social  status  of 
the  father,  and  the  place  where  he  lived  are  given ;  also  the  distribution 
of  sex  in  each  birth  is  indicated.  As  this  material  would  be  unin- 
telligible without  the  use  of  Chinese  characters,  it  is  here  omitted. 
Readers  interested  in  this  phase  of  the  work  may  be  referred  to  the 
New  China  Review  of  Shanghai,  in  which  the  complete  article  will  be 
published.  For  some  of  the  bibliographical  references  mentioned  on 
the  following  pages  I  am  under  obligation  to  Dr.  A.  Hrdlicka,  Curator 
of  Physical  Anthropology  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  of  Washing- 
ton. 

UNITED    TWINS 

The  Chinese  Annals  have  preserved  a  few  cases  of  twins  grown 
together  at  birth.  In  this  case,  the  question  naturally  is  of  twins 
produced  from  a  single  ovum. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  the  period  Kien-hing  (a.d.  316),  under  the 
Emperor  Min  of  the  Tsin  dynasty,  a  woman  of  the  family  Hu,  when 
she  was  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  the  wife  of  Jen  Kiao,  a  minor 
official  (clerk)  in  the  district  of  Sin-ts'ai  (prefecture  of  Ju-ning,  Ho- 
nan),  gave  birth  to  female  twins  grown  together  in  the  region  of  the 
abdomen  and  the  heart,  but  separated  above  the  breast  and  beneath 
the  navel. — Sung  shu,  Ch.  34,  p.  28. 

In  A.D.  487  (under  the  Emperor  Wu  of  the  Ts'i  dynasty),  the  wife 
of  Wu  Hiu,  one  of  the  people  of  Tung-ts'ien  in  Wu-hing  (now  Hu-chou 
fu,  Che-kiang)  gave  birth  to  male  twins  grown  together  below  the 
chest  down  to  above  the  navel. — Nan  TsH  shu,  Ch.  19,  p.  16b. 

In  the  fourth  month  of  the  third  year  of  the  period  Yi-fung  (a.d. 
678),  King-chou  (Kan-su)  presented  the  Court  with  two  infants  the 
hearts  of  which  were  connected,  but  each  with  a  separate  body. 
Formerly  it  had  happened  that  the  wife,  nee  Wu,  of  Hu  Wan-nien, 
a  soldier  of  the  guard  in  the  district  Shun-ku  (Kan-su),  gave  birth  to 
twins,  a  male  and  a  female,  whose  breasts  were  connected,  but  who, 
for  the  rest,  had  individual  bodies;  when  separated,  both  died.  At 
a  subsequent  birth  it  was  thus  again.     The  twins  were  boys,  and  were 


MULTIPLE    BIRTHS   AMONG    THE    CHINESE  87 

brought  up.  In  the  above  mentioned  year  they  had  reached  the  age 
of  four  years,  and  were  presented  to  the  Court. — T'ang  shu,  Ch.  36, 
p.  21. 

In  A.D.  1610,  the  wife  of  Li  Yi-ch'en  of  Fan-ki  (in  Tai-chou,  Shan-si), 
nee  Niu,  brought  forth  two  girls  with  their  heads  and  faces  grown 
together,  but  with  separate  arms  and  legs. — Shan-si  Vung  chi  ("Gazet- 
teer of  Shan-si  Province")- 

Two  Chinese  twins  grown  together,  born  in  1887,  were  shown  by 
Barnum  and  Bailey  in  1902,  and  at  that  time  were  still  unseparated 
and  well.     Cf.  R.  Virchow,  Xiphodymie  (Z.  Ethn.,  1891,  pp.  366-370). 

The  modern  Gazetteers  occasionally  record  the  birth  of  twins,  not, 
however,  on  account  of  any  special  interest  attached  to  the  fact 
itself,  but  merely  in  order  to  emphasize  the  interest  in  the  vitality  of 
twins  (cf.  W.  A.  Macnaughton,  The  Longevity  of  Twins,  Caledon. 
M.  J.,  X,  pp.  127-129,  Glasgow,  1915).  The  following  examples  from 
the  Gazetteer  of  Hwa-yang  (Hwa-yang  Men  chi,  Ch.  43,  p.  4)  will 
suffice  to  illustrate  this  feature. 

The  wife  of  Chu  Ch'ang-hwa,  nee  Lin,  had  14  sons,  among  these  2 
pairs  of  twins,  who  did  not  die  prematurely,  but  are  still  alive. 

The  wife  of  Chung  Se-kin,  nee  Tsou,  had  9  sons,  among  these  one 
pair  of  twins  still  alive. 

The  wife  of  Chung  Chao-k'in,  nee  Chang,  had  9  sons,  among  these 
one  pair  of  twins  still  alive. 

The  wife  of  Li  Ch'ao-kung,  nee  Lin,  had  8  sons,  among  these  one 
pair  of  twins  still  alive. 

TRIPLETS 

Following  is  a  summary  of  the  Chinese  data.  For  the  period  of  the 
T'ang  dynasty  (a.d.  618-906)  only  two  cases  of  a  triplet  birth  are  on 
record  in  the  Annals.  In  a.d.  775  a  woman  of  the  family  Chaiig  gave 
birth  to  one  male  and  two  females,  and  in  a.d.  905  triplets  (males) 
were  born  by  the  wife  of  P'eng  Wen,  one  of  the  people  of  Ju-yin  in 
Ying-chou  (Ngan-hwi  or  An-hwi  Province).  For  the  Sung  period 
the  data  of  triplet  births  are  fuller  than  for  any  other  dynasty.  From 
a.d.  960  down  to  a.d.  1150  we  have  a  total  of  110  cases,  listed  with 
exact  dates,  family  and  place  names,  father's  social  status,  and  sex 
distribution  in  each  triplet  birth.  For  the  time  from  a.d.  1023  to 
1126  no  list  of  names  is  given,  but  merely  a  statistical  record  which 
covers  several  reign-periods  of  emperors.  It  is  here  reproduced  in 
tabular  form. 


BERTHOLD    LAUFER 


Records  of  Multiple  Births  in  China,  1023-1126 


Period 

Years 

Quadruplets 
(Males) 

Quadruplets 
(3  Males, 
1  Female) 

Triplets 
(Males) 

Triplets 
(2  Males, 
1  Female) 

Total 

1023-68 

1068-83 

1084-99 

1100-26 

46 
15 
16 
27 

2 
1 
2 
1 

1 

44 

84 

18. 

19 

1 
1 

47 
86 
21 
20 

Total 

104 

6 

1 

165 

2 

174 

Quadruplets  total  7 

Triplets  total  167 

While  the  prececiing  cases  are  not  recorded  in  the  way  of  vital 
statistics,  but  solely  as  unusual  events,  the  above  table  conveys  the 
impression  of  embracing  a  fairly  accurate  register  of  all  multiple 
births  (save  twin  births),  which  took  place  within  the  span  of  a  century. 
The  proportion  of  quadruplet  to  triplet  births  in  this  period  is  1 :  23.86. 
The  total  of  triplet  births  on  record  during  the  Sung  epoch,  accordingly, 
is  110  +  167  =  277.  The  total  of  quadruplet  births  during  the  same 
period  is  7  (as  shown  by  the  above  table)  +  7  (recorded  in  the  following 
section)  =  14.  The  proportion  of  quadruplet  to  triplet  births  for 
the  entire  period  of  the  Sung  is  1:19.78;  while  the  proportion  for  the 
entire  period  of  Chinese  history  here  considered  (473-1643)  is  1:10.8. 
This  calculation  is  based  on  a  total  of  324  triplets  and  30  quadruplets. 

There  are  no  multiple  births  on  record  in  the  chapter  Wu  king  chi  of 
the  Kin  ski.  The  Yiian  shi  (Chs.  50-51),  covering  the  period  from 
1260  to  1367,  contains  only  15  cases  of  triplets  (all  males),  recorded 
under  the  years  1261,  1265,  1273,  1285,  1291,  1297,  1300,  1327,  1328, 
1335,  and  1363.  In  the  years  1273,  1297,  1335,  and  1363,  two  cases 
are  listed  for  each  year;  and  it  is  of  especial  interest  that  in  two  in- 
stances we  have  two  cases  of  triplets  in  the  same  family,  the  interval 
between  the  two  being  in  either  case  given  as  three  years.  According 
to  Dr.  Puech,  to  whom  we  owe  excellent  studies  on  the  causes ,  of 
multiple  births,  the  more  children  a  woman  has  had  at  close  intervals, 
the  more  she  will  be  inclined  toward  these  physiological  anomalies. 
Three  women  admitted  in  the  St.  Petersburg  Midwives'  Institute 
between  1845-59  in  their  fifteenth  pregnancy  had  triplets,  and  each 
had  triplets  three  times  in  succession  (J.  M.  Duncan,  Fecundity,  p.  71). 

For  the  period  of  the  Ming  dynasty  (1368-1643)  we  lack  official 
records ;  but  the  section  jen  i  of  the  T"w  shu  tsi  dCeng  gives  a  list  of  30 
cases  of  triplet  births,  extracted  from  the  provincial  and  local  Gazet- 
teers, and  covering  a  period  from  1404  to  1626.     In  1413,  1515,  and 


MULTIPLE    BIRTHS    AMONG   THE    CHINESE  89 

1520,  two  cases  are  recorded  in  each  year.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
this  material  is  extracted  from  a  number  of  scattered  books,  it  cannot 
lay  claim  to  completeness;  the  figure  30  is  certainly  much  removed 
from  reality,  but  even  if  multiplied  by  3  or  4,  it  is  left  far  behind  the 
total  of  the  Sung  period.  On  the  whole,  the  impression  prevails 
that  the  number  of  multiple  births  has  steadily  been  on  the  decrease 
from  the  days  of  the  Sung.  This  would  agree  with  an  anthropological 
theory  to  the  effect  that  the  phenomenon  of  multiple  births  in  man 
represents  a  survival  of  or  reversal  to  his  former  animal  state  and  that 
with  the  advance  of  civilization  the  number  of  such  births  is  liable  to 
decline.  There  is  a  correct  biological  viewpoint  in  this  hypothesis, 
but  it  does  not  account  for  all  facts  connected  with  the  phenomenon, 
and,  above  all,  conflicts  with  given  data  and  statistics.  It  is  not 
brought  out  by  the  vital  statistics  of  any  European  country  that  the 
frequency  of  plural  births  is  on  the  decline;  on  the  contrary,  in 
France,  for  instance,  it  is  surprisingly  high  (see  below).  Further,  if 
that  theory  were  correct,  we  should  naturally  anticipate  to  find  the 
greatest  number  of  multiple  births  among  primitive  tribes,  which  for 
all  we  know  is  not  the  case.  Hardly  a  century  has  elapsed  that  records 
of  plural  births  have  been  taken  in  Europe,  and  this  period  is  too  short 
to  allow  us  to  indulge  in  much  speculation  on  the  subject. 

According  to  the  Statutes  of  the  Manchu  Dynast}^,  it  was  decreed 
in  1663  that  in  the  case  of  a  triplet  birth  or  a  twin  birth  of  a  boy  and 
a  girl,  if  it  should  occur  among  the  people  of  the  Eight  Banners,  a 
special  report  should  be  submitted  to  the  Board  of  Rites;  if  it  should 
occur  in  the  provinces,  the  governor  of  such  province  should  report 
to  the  Board  of  Rites,  which  would  have  to  forward  it  to  the  Board  of 
Finance,  the  latter  to  grant  a  premium  of  five  piculs  of  rice  and  ten 
pieces  of  cloth.  In  1674  it  was  ordered  that  a  special  report  should 
be  made  solely  in  the  case  of  male  triplets,  but  not  in  the  case  of 
twins  or  female  triplets.  In  1684  an  edict  ordained  that  in  the  case 
of  male  triplets  the  Board  of  Rites  and  the  Board  of  Finance  should 
submit  a  joined  report  to  the  Throne,  and  that  rewards  should  be 
authorized  in  accordance  with  law.  This  benevolent  attitude  toward 
the  energetic  propagators  of  the  race  was  not  an  innovation  of  the 
Manchu,  but  a  heritage  of  the  Ming;  for  under  the  Ming  we  are  fre- 
quently informed  of  special  grants  of  food,  cloth,  and  even  paper 
money,  made  to  these  involuntary  heroes  from  public  funds. 

It  may  hence  be  inferred  that  under  the  Manchu  regime  a  register 
of  male  triplets  was  kept,  and  presumably  is  still  preserved  in  the 


90  BERTHOLD    LAUFER 

archives  of  Peking.  If  it  should  ever  be  published,  the  fact  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  female  triplets  were  not  officially  reported. 
Meanwhile  we  are  thrown  back  for  that  period  on  the  local  and 
provincial  Gazetteers,  which  in  the  chapter  on  untoward  or  abnormal 
events  sometimes  record  cases  of  plural  births. 

To  cite  a  few  instances  of  this  kind  in  the  period  of  the  Manchu 
dynasty, — the  Gazetteer  of  Ju-chou  in  Ho-nan  (quoted  above)  enumer- 
ates four  cases  (all  males),  which  occurred  in  1770,  1785,  1824,  and 
1833.  In  1797  a  triplet  birth  occurred  in  Hwa-yang  (prefecture  of 
Ch'eng-tu,  Se-ch'wan) ;  the  case  was  reported  to  the  throne,  and  by 
imperial  favor,  a  picul  of  rice  was  granted  to  the  father,  Yang  Kwo-yli 
(Hiva  yang  Men  chi,  Ch.  43,  p.  3).  The  Gazetteer  of  Mong-chou 
(prefecture  of  Hwai-k'ing,  Ho-nan)  cites  only  two  cases  for  the  years 
1682  and  1736.  Most  Gazetteers  which  I  have  looked  up  are  dis- 
appointing: thus  the  Gazetteer  of  Shen-si  Province  {Shen-si  fung 
chi)  contains  only  two  cases  of  triplets,  recorded  for  the  years  1470 
and  1729. 

In  the  Gazetteer  of  the  Prefecture  of  Sung-kiang,  three  cases  of 
triplets  are  recorded  between  1367  and  1640  (according  to  D.  J. 
Macgowan,  Cosmical  Phenomena  Observed  in  the  Neighborhood  of 
Shanghai,  Journal  China  Branch  R.  As.  Soc,  II,  1860,  p.  74). 

The  data  of  the  Chinese  certainly  are  defective,  and  cannot  entirely 
satisfy  the  anthropologist.  We  miss,  for  instance,  data  concerning  the 
ages  of  mother  and  father  and  order  of  birth  in  triplet  deliveries  {rang 
chronologique  de  V accouchement  of  the  French  statisticians).  Above 
all,  we  should  desire  information  as  to  the  vitality  and  fecundity  of  the 
offspring.  What  the  Chinese  may  boast  of,  however,  is  the  fact  that 
they  possess  lists  of  plural  births  for  periods  of  the  past  when  nothing 
of  the  kind  was  ever  attempted  in  any  country  of  Europe.  In  the 
vital  statistics  of  France,  plural  births  have  been  recorded  only  from 
1858;  and  in  no  country  of  Europe  did  they  receive  any  attention 
before  the  nineteenth  century  (in  Berlin  from  1825). 

The  sum  of  277  triplet  births  for  the  Sung  and  324  for  the  time 
from  the  T'ang  to  the  Ming  inclusive  may  seem  a  high  figure  to  the 
uninitiated;  in  fact,  however,  it  is  strikingly  low.  During  the  four 
years  1907-1910  there  was  in  France  a  total  of  327  triplet  births; 
91,  93,  68,  75  in  the  respective  years,  making  a  mean  average  of  81.75 
per  year  (Statistique  general  de  la  France,  Statistique  du  mouvement 
de  la  population,  Paris,  1912,  p.  56).  There  were,  accordingly,  more 
triplet  births  in  France  during  those  four  years  than  in  China  in  the 


MULTIPLE    BIRTHS   AMONG    THE    CHINESE  91 

course  of  many  centuries.  Or,  to  cite  another  example,  in  the  period 
1835-47,  there  were  in  Bavaria  1,050  triplet,  56,062  twin,  and  3,413,763 
normal  births.  The  frequency  of  triplets  varies  in  different  years 
and  in  different  countries.  In  1855,  triplets  were  produced  in  Scotland 
by  11  mothers  out  of  92,300  births;  that  is,  one  in  8,391.  Triplet 
births  in  Scotland  from  1855  to  1901,  a  period  of  47  years,  numbered 
644,  and  averaged  116  per  million  confinements  (C.  J.  Lewis  and  J.  N. 
Lewis,  Natality  and  Fecundity,  p.  62).  I  do  not  go  any  further  into 
the  question  of  the  frequency  of  triplets  in  Europe  and  the  proportion 
of  triplets  to  twin  and  normal  births,  as  the  Chinese  data  are  not  com- 
parable, and  as  figures  of  total  births  are  lacking  for  the  Sung  period. 
Judging  from  bur  experience,  it  must  be  stated,  however,  that  the 
Chinese  data  can  hardly  be  complete;  but  there  is  no  way  of  correcting 
or  adjusting  the  figures,  which  we  are  simply  compelled  to  take  for 
what  they  are  worth.  The  reader  should  not  forget  that  the  material 
furnished  by  the  Chinese  Annals  is  not  intended  as  statistics,  but 
merely  as  a  record  of  extraordinary  events  in  human  life.  In  order  to 
give  a  certain  perspective  to  the  number  of  multiple  births,  some  data 
concerning  the  population  may  follow  here.  According  to  the  calcu- 
lations of  E.  Biot  C'Memoire  sur  la  population  de  la  Chine,"  Journal 
asiatique,  1836,  p.  461),  the  population  of  China  under  the  Sung  totaled 
43,388,380  in  the  year  1021,  and  rose  to  100,095,250  in  1102;  again  in 
1223,  it  amounted  to  only  63,354,005  (in  consequence  of  the  loss  of 
northern  China  to  the  Kin).  These  figures,  in  all  probability,  are  too 
high;  for  they  are  estimated  on  the  number  of  families  given  in  the 
Chinese  records,  the  assumption  being  made  that  the  mean  average  of 
the  number  of  individuals  in  a  family  is  5,  which,  in  my  opinion,  is  too 
high  a  figure. 

The  total  number  of  triplets  recorded  for  the  T'ang  and  Sung  periods 
is  279.  The  distribution  of  sex  in  this  number  is  as  follows:  273  all 
males,  that  is,  97.8  per  cent;  4  consisting  of  2  males  and  1  female, 
that  is  1.4  per  cent;  1  consisting  of  1  male  and  2  females,  that  is,  0.04 
per  cent;  and  only  one  consisting  of  3  females  (0.04  per  cent).  Again, 
the  15  triplet  births  of  the  Yiian  dynasty  and  the  30  of  the  Ming  are 
all  males  exclusively.  The  above  percentages  perhaps  give  an  approxi- 
mate clew  to  the  actual  frequency  of  sex  in  triplet  births,  as  far  as 
China  is  concerned. 

C.  J.  Lewis  and  J.  Norman  Lewis  (Natality  and  Fecundity,  p.  61, 
London,  1906),  who  base  their  remarkable  study  on  the  birth  registers- 
of  Scotland  for  the  year  1855,  during  which  year  there  were  11  triplet 


92  BERTHOLD    LAUFER 

births  in  that  country  (3  males,  5;  3  females,  3;  2  males  and  1  female,  3), 
offer  the  following  conclusion  in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  the  sexes: 
''There  is  a  strong  probability  that  in  any  given  occurrence  of  triplets 
the  children  will  all  be  of  the  same  sex,  either  all  males  or  all  females. 
If  the  same  ratio  held  in  other  nations  and  in  other  years,  it  would 
amount  to  a  law  of  triplet  production  that  in  over  70  per  cent  of  cases 
the  newly-born  children  are  all  of  the  same  sex." 

In  the  period  from  1858  to  1865,  there  were  in  France  1,005  triplet 
and  4  quadruplet  births;  among  the  former,  there  were  280  entirely 
males,  218  entirely  females,  256  consisting  of  1  male  and  2  females, 
and  251  consisting  of  2  males  and  1  female.  The  number  of  twin 
births  during  the  same  period  amounted  to  83,279;  of  these  28,056 
were  two  males,  26,310  two  females,  and  29,363  consisting  of  one 
male  and  one  female  (A.  Puech,  Annates  d'hygiene  puhlique,  XLI,  1874). 

Of  the  277  triplets  recorded  for  the  Sung  period,  the  social  standing 
of  the  fathers  is  given  in  only  110  cases,  while  the  remaining  167  cases 
are  merely  recorded  as  chronological-statistical  events.  Among  the 
110  cases,  the  social  status  of  the  fathers  is  distributed  as  follows: 

Percentage 

Rural  population 85  76.7 

Field-laborers 1  1.1 

Workmen 1  1.1 

Soldiers 22  20.0 

Petty  officials 1  1.1 

Total 110  100.0 

In  the  Ylian  period,  14  common  people  and  1  soldier  share  in  the 
15  cases  of  triplets  placed  on  record.  In  the  Ming  period,  28  common 
people  and  2  soldiers  assume  responsibility  for  30  cases  of  triplets 
recorded.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  bourgeoisie,  inclusive  of 
officials,  gentry,  and  merchants,  has  no  share  in  these  records. 
Peasants  and  laborers,  of  course,  formed  the  majority  of  the  populace; 
but  there  is  no  reason  why  triplet  births,  if  they  had  occurred  in  the 
upper  classes,  should  not  have  been  reported  or  recorded. 

In  arranging  our  data  according  to  families,  we  arrive  at  the  result 
that  the  members  of  the  families  Li,  Wang,  Chang,  and  Liu,  take  the 
uppermost  rank.  The  male  Li  reach  the  score  with  16^  +  1'*,  while 
two  female  Li  figure  with  2*;  in  the  years  986  and  996  respectively 
we  have  two  male  Li  participating  in  triplets.  The  record  of  the 
Wang  is  13^  -f-  2^  (plus  one  female  Wang  P);   the  Chang  follow  with 

93  -I-  2\  plus  two  female  Chang  (2^),  and  the  Liu  with  9^  -\-  V,  two 


MULTIPLE    BIRTHS    AMONG    THE    CHINESE  93 

members  of  this  family  being  conspicuous  in  the  same  year  (1016). 
This  does  not  mean,  of  course,  that  these  four  famihes  are  more 
prolific  than  others,  but  is  merely  the  index  of  the  fact  that  they  are 
the  most  numerous  and  the  most  widely  spread.  The  share  of  the 
members  of  the  Yang  family  is  expressed  by  the  figure  6'',  that  of  the 
Chao  by  5^  (plus  one  female  Chao  P),  that  of  the  Cheng  by  4^  (plus 
one  female  Cheng  1*).  The  Fung,  Sie,  and  Sii  have  a  3^  to  their  credit; 
the  Wei  reach  the  mark  2^  +  1^,  the  Kwo  1^  +  1*,  while  the  Chu,  Hou, 
Kao,  Mong,  and  Tung,  can  only  boast  of  2^  each.  All  other  families 
are  represented  but  once.  These  figures  certainly  have  a  mere  relative 
value,  and  do  not  allow  of  any  far-reaching  inferences.  It  is  assumed 
by  anthropologists  that  the  tendency  to  multiple  births  is  frequently 
hereditary,  both  in  the  male  and  female  line,  more  frequently  in  the 
former  than  in  the  latter;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  heredity  is  a 
potent  cause  in  the  perpetuation  of  plural  births.  In  the  case  of 
triplets  and  to  a  still  higher  degree  of  quadruplets  the  hereditary 
tendency  is  particularly  striking.  Quadruplets  often  issue  from 
parents  who  were  multiples  themselves.  Female  twins  often  give 
birth  to  twins. 

During  the  61  years  covering  our  records  1-109  (=  109'^),  the  high- 
water  mark  is  reached  in  the  year  991  with  9^,  and  there  is  only  this 
one  year  that  offers  such  a  record.  There  are  two  years  (998  and 
1015)  with  7\  two  years  (995  and  996)  with  5^  4  years  (982,  983, 
1014,  and  1016)  with  4^,  8  years  with  3^  and  11  years  with  2^.  In  the 
remaining  years  there  is  but  1'^  or  0^.  In  the  Yiian  period  we  have 
four  years  with  2^. 

QUADRUPLETS 

There  is  a  total  of  30  on  record,  the  first  in  a.d.  473,  the  last  in  a.d. 
1608,  a  span  of  1,136  years. 

In  this  total  of  30,  4  quadruplets  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  single  woman. 
Twenty-five  out  of  the  number  of  30,  that  is  5/6  or  83.33  per  cent, 
consist  of  males  exclusively.  The  remaining  5  are  distributed  as 
follows:  3  cases  consisting  of  3  males  and  1  female  (10  per  cent), 
1  case  being  2  males  and  2  females  (3.33  per  cent)  and  1  case  being  4 
females  (3.33  per  cent). 

In  1907  two  quadruplet  i)irths  in  France  produced  5  males  and  3 
females;  in  1908  there  was  one  quadruplet  birth  of  4  boys;  in  1909 
three  quadruplet  births  produced  10  boys  and  2  girls;  and  in  1910, 
there  was  one  quadruplet  birth  of  2  males  and  2  females  (Statistique 
du  mouvement  de  la  population,  p.  56). 


94  BERTHOLD    LAUFER 

For  7  cases  no  personal  data  are  on  record;  in  a  single  case  of  the 
Ming  period  the  father's  social  status  is  not  indicated.  In  the  remain- 
ing 22  cases  we  find  2  soldiers,  1  falconer,  and  19  common  people,  in  all 
probability,  farmers.  Again,  we  accordingly  meet  here  with  the 
same  social  status  of  the  parents  as  in  the  case  of  triplets. 

As  to  the  relative  proportion  of  quadruplet  to  triplet  births,  see 
above,  p.  50. 

Pliny  (VII,  3,  §  33)  records  the  example  of  a  quadruplet  birth  of 
two  males  and  two  females  toward  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Augustus 
and  ascribed  to  Fausta,  a  Plebeian  woman  of  Ostia  (Fausta  quaedam  e 
plebe  Ostiae). 

QUINTUPLETS 

It  is  striking  and  worthy  of  especial  mention  that  the  Chinese 
Annals  do  not  record  a  single  example  of  a  quintuplet  birth;  at  least 
I  have  failed  in  tracing  any.  Both  Aristotle  and  Pliny  were  convinced 
of  such  an  occurrence.  Aristotle  (Historia  animalium,  transl.  of 
D'Arcy  W.  Thompson,  p.  584b)  states:  ''Some  animals  produce  one 
and  some  produce  many  at  a  birth,  but  the  human  species  does 
sometimes  the  one  and  sometimes  the  other.  As  a  general  rule  and 
among  most  nations  the  women  bear  one  child  at  a  birth;  but  fre- 
quently and  in  many  lands  they  bear  twins,  as  for  instance  in  Egypt 
especially.  Sometimes  women  bring  forth  three  and  even  four  chil- 
dren, and  especially  in  certain  parts  of  the  world.  The  largest  number 
ever  brought  forth  is  five,  and  such  an  occurrence  has  been  witnessed 
on  several  occasions.  There  was  once  upon  a  time  a  certain  woman 
who  had  twenty  children  at  four  births;  each  time  she  had  five,  and 
most  of  them  grew  up."  Pliny  (VII,  3,  §  33)  has  it  that  in  the 
Peloponnesus  a  woman  was  delivered  of  five  children  at  a  birth  four 
successive  times,  and  that  the  greater  part  of  these  survived  (Reperitur 
et  in  Peloponneso  quinos  quater  enixa,  maioremque  partem  ex  omni 
eius  vixisse  partu), — perhaps  the  same  event  alluded  to  by  Aristotle. 
Nijhoff,  in  his  interesting  study  "  Vijflinggeboorten"  (Groningen, 
1904,  4°)  has  fully  described  and  figured  a  case  which  came  under  his 
notice.  He  further  reviews  from  literary  records  29  more  cases  of 
quintuplet  births,  one  of  which  only  seems  to  be  of  doubtful  authen- 
ticity. Cf.  also  S.  Shishido,  The  Birth  of  Five  Infants  at  One  Parturi- 
tion (Iji  Shinbun,  Tokyo,  1901,  pp.  433-438). 

SEXTUPLETS 

In  regard  to  sextuplet  birth,  I  have  found  only  two  cases  on  record. 
According  to  the  Gazetteer  of  Chi-li  Province  (Ki  fu  Vung  chi),  it  was 


MULTIPLE    BIRTHS   AMONG   THE    CHINESE  .  95 

in  1574  that  a  woman  of  the  people  of  Fei-hiang  (in  Kwang-p'ing  fu, 
Chi-li)  brought  forth  six  children  at  one  birth.  The  name  of  the 
woman  and  the  husband  is  not  given.  The  other  case  is  reported  in 
the  Sii  KHen  shu  (Ch.  5,  p.  8),  a  record  of  Kwei-chou  Province,  written 
by  Chang  Chu  in  1805.  In  a  certain  village  of  western  Kwei-chou 
a  woman,  nee  Wang,  gave  birth  to  six  sons  at  one  time,  both  children 
and  mother  being  well.  The  author,  however,  had  this  merely  from 
hearsay. 

Xijhoff  (p.  66)  reports  the  case  of  a  sextuplet  birth  in  a  peasant 
family  at  Castagnola  near  Lugano  (Italy)  in  1888  (4  males,  2  females, 
who  were  alive  at  the  time  of  birth,  but  died  in  a  few  seconds)  and 
another  from  Alburi  on  the  Gold  Coast  in  Africa  after  Dr.  H.  Vortisch 
of  the  Basle  Mission.  In  the  latter  case  a  Negro  woman  is  said  to 
have  been  delivered  of  5  boys  and  1  girl,  who  for  lack  of  care  died 
shortly;  the  woman  stated  that  it  was  her  fifth  deliverance,  at  the 
second  she  had  twins,  at  the  third  quadruplets,  and  at  the  fourth 
triplets.  An  Italian  woman,  who  in  the  fifth  month  of  pregnancy 
miscarried,  expelled  six  foetuses;  the  truthfulness  of  this  report  is 
generally  conceded  (J.  Parvin,  Science  and  Art  of  Obstetrics,  3d  ed., 
p.  161).  Other  cases  of  sextuplet  delivery  are  described  in  the  Boston 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  XXXV,  2,  1847,  and  by  J.  W.  Kerr  and 
H.  Cookman  (Med.  Pres.  and  Circ,  LXXV,  p.  537,  London,  1903: 
five  boys  and  one  girl).  Cf.  also  Shishido,  Examination  of  the  Records 
of  More  than  Five  Infants  at  a  Birth  (//i  Shinbun,  Tokyo,  1901,  pp. 
1897-1901). 

SEPTUPLETS 

The  Gazetteer  of  Chi-li  Province  (Ki  fu  Vung  chi)  has  it  on  record 
that  in  1527  a  woman,  nee  Ch'en,  of  Ho-kicn  (Chi-li),  was  delivered  of 
seven  girls  at  one  birth,  but  that  none  of  them  survived.  According 
to  Trogus,  there  was  a  case  of  seven  children  at  one  birth  in  Egypt 
(Et  in  Aegypto  septenos  uno  utero  simul  gigni  auctor  est  Trogus, 
Pliny,  VII,  3,  §  33).  Cases  of  septuplet  birth  are  mentioned  by  Roy 
(Couches  avec  7  foetus,  in  Revue  medicale  franqaise  et  etranghe,  Paris, 
1877,  I,  p.  225);  cf.  also  R.  C,  Multiple  Pregnancy  with  a  Vengeance 
(Med.  Rec,  LXIII,  p.  267,  New  York,  1903). 

It  is  reported  in  verso  on  a  tombstone  of  Hamoln  that  on  January  9, 
1600,  two  boys  and  five  girls  were  born  to  Thielc  Roemer  and  Anna 
Breyers.  The  tombstone  is  adorned  with  a  sculptured  scene  which 
shows  six  babes  in  swaddling-clothes  on  a  pillow,  while  the  lucky  (?) 
father  holds  the   seventh   on    his   arm   toward   the   Savior.     Nijhoff 


96  BERTHOLD    LAUFER 

(p.  71-72),  who  has  reproduced  the  tombstone,  holds  that  the  question 
is  here  of  a  veritable  fact,  as  at  that  time  no  mockery  was  made  of 
religious  subjects.  I  am  far  from  sharing  this  opinion.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  Germans  have  displayed  a  great  deal  of  fun  and  humor 
on  their  epitaphs,  collections  of  which  have  been  made.  The  tomb- 
stone itself  does  not  suffice  to  bear  out  the  historicity  of  the  case. 
It  would  be  necessary  to  trace  it  in  the  parish-register,  death-Jists,  or 
any  other  documents  in  the  archives  of  the  town  of  Hameln;  but  this 
evidence,  as  far  as  I  know,  has  not  yet  come  forward. 

A  case  of  eight  children  at  a  birth,  as  far  as  I  know,  is  nowhere  on 
record,  but  the  following  curious  passage  occurs  in  the  book  "Cos- 
mographie  de  Levant"  (p.  114,  Lyon,  1554)  by  F.  Andre  Thevet 
d'Angoulesme:  "Non  seulement  ce  pais  abonde  en  fruits,  et  herbes: 
mais  aussi  en  fleurs  odoriferentes,  Les  femmes  y  sont  tant  fecondes, 
qu'elles  engendrent  communement  trois,  et  quatre,  et  bien  souvent  huit 
enfans:  et  encores  qu'ils  naissent  au  huitieme  mois,  ils  vivent:  ce 
qu'aucuns  attribuent  a  la  bonte  du  Nil:  Outreplus  elles  surengen- 
droient,  (comme  Pline  raconte  d'une  femme  d'Alexandrie)  ce  qui 
n'est  pas  tant  signe  de  merveille,  que  argument  de  fecondite."  Thevet 
is  doubtless  influenced  by  the  passage  of  Pliny,  and  is  somewhat  in- 
clined toward  exaggerations.  I  doubt  very  much  that  a  case  of 
octoplets  has  ever  come  under  his  actual  experience:  his  statement  is 
generalized,  but  no  reference  is  made  to  a  specific  case. 


The  preceding  article  discloses  the  fact  that  a  department  of  vital 
statistics,  either  in  connection  with  the  Government  or  as  a  private 
enterprise,  is  urgently  required  for  China.  The  motive  which  princi- 
pally guided  me  in  writing  this  notice  was  to  demonstrate  by  a  concrete 
example  the  necessity  of  founding  such  an  institution.  It  goes  without 
saying  that  a  statistical  research  into  the  population  of  China  would 
mean  a  considerable  advance  of  our  knowledge,  from  which  the  econ- 
omists and  sociologists  all  the  world  over  might  learn  and  benefit, 
and  that  the  Chinese  would  yield  the  most  fruitful  material  for  all 
problems  of  heredity  and  eugenics.  It  is  particularly  genealogical 
research  that  could  be  carried  on  in  China  with  most  promising  results. 
Another  problem  which  is  much  on  my  heart  is  that  of  longevity  and 
the  average  duration  of  a  generation  among  the  Chinese  and  Japanese; 
and  if  nothing  interferes,  I  hope  to  make  a  small  contribution  to  this 
question  in  the  near  future. 


RACE  SUICIDE   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES 

WARREN   S.   THOMPSON 
Cornell  University 

The  question  of  the  relative  rates  of  increase  of  the  population  of  old 
native  stock  and  of  that  of  immigrant  stocks  is  one  which  has  attracted 
the  attention  of  anthropologists  and  students  of  our  population  move- 
ments for  half  a  century  or  more.  Studies  of  population  movements 
in  New  England  made  more  than  fifty  years  ago  showed  that  the  birth 
rate  among  the  people  of  native  stock  had  been  falling  steadily  since 
1800,  and  that  the  Irish  immigrants  and  their  descendants  were 
rapidly  supplanting  the  old  native  stock.  More  recent  data  show 
that  the  same  process  is  still  going  on,  only  now  it  is  the  French 
Canadians,  the  Italians,  the  Slavs  and  the  Jews  that  are  supplanting 
both  the  old  native  stock  and  the  earlier  immigrants  of  Nordic  stock 
from  the  British  Isles,  the  Scandinavian  countries  and  Germany. 

Before  we  can  proceed  to  a  discussion  of  the  questions  involved  in 
this  process  of  substitution,  we  must  examine  the  facts  of  population 
increase  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  ascertain 
how  far  it  is  true  that  the  old  native  American  stock  and  the  earlier 
immigrants  are  rapidl}'  dying  out  and  being  supplanted  by  newer 
immigrants. 

EVIDENCES    OF   RACE    SUICIDE 

The  Registration  Report  of  Maine  for  1910  showed  that  the  three 
counties  in  that  state  having  the  highest  percentages  of  native  stock 
had  the  lowest  birth  rates  and  also  that  the  death  rate  exceeded  the 
birth  rate,  while  in  the  state  as  a  whole  the  birth  rate  exceeded  the 
death  rate  by  4.55  persons  per  1,000.  The  Registration  Reports  also 
show  that  for  some  years  past  the  number  of  marriages  among  the 
foreign  born  in  Maine  has  been  about  29  per  cent  of  all  marriages, 
while  the  children  born  to  foreign  born  parents  constitute  about  40 
per  cent  of  all  children  born.  A  comparison  of  Auburn,  a  city  of 
about  16,000  inhabitants  of  predominantly  native  stock,  with  Lewis- 
ton,  a  city  of  about  27,500,  having  a  large  French  Canadian  element, 
shows  that  in  1915  the  former  had  a  birth  rate  of  17.4  and  the  latter 

97 

AMF.n.  JouH.  Phy8.  Anthroi'.,  Vol.  III.  No.  1. 


98  WAEREN   S.    THOMPSON 

a  rate  of  27.3.  The  death  rate  is  somewhat  higher  in  Lewiston  than 
in  Auburn,  but  when  allowance  is  made  for  this  fact  the  former  has  a 
rate  of  natural  increase  more  than  twice  as  large  as  the  latter — 10.5 
and  4.6  respectively. 

In  a  study  made  several  years  ago,  Kuczynski^  found  that  the  mar- 
riage rate  was  much  higher  among  the  foreign  born  in  Massachusetts 
than  among  the  native  born,  and  also  that  the  birth  rate  of  the  former 
was  much  higher  than  that  of  the  latter.  According  to  his  calculations 
the  birth  rate  was  63  per  1,000  native-born  "female  adults,"  and 
124  per  1000  foreign-born  "female  adults,"  during  the  fifteen-year 
period  1883-1897.  He  also  pointed  out  that  according  to  the  state 
census  of  1885,  20.18  per  cent  of  the  native-born  married  women 
had  no  children,  while  only  13.27  per  cent  of  the  foreign-born  married 
women  were  childless.  This  same  census  showed,  too,  that  the  average 
number  of  children  born  to  a  native  married  woman  was  2.69,  while 
the  average  number  born  to  a  foreign  married  woman  was  4.53. 

Numerous  other  studies  confirm  the  general  belief  that  in  the  north- 
eastern states  the  native  population  is  being  supplanted  by  the  foreign- 
born  population  and  their  descendants.  Hoffman^  says :  "Engleman, 
as  the  result  of  his  analysis  of  New  England  genealogies,  shows  that 
while  in  1800  the  average  number  of  children  was  6.1,  it  had  decreased 
to  4.6  by  1830,  to  3.3  by  1860,  2.5  by  1872,  and  for  the  upper  classes 
of  Boston  to  1.8  by  1900."  In  a  footnote  on  page  678  of  this  same 
article  Mr.  Hoffman  states  that  an  original  investigation  into  the 
facts  of  American  ancestry  from  published  genealogies  shows  that  the 
average  number  of  children  per  family  in  the  period  1700-1750  was 
about  seven;  1800-1850  about  five;  1850-1900  less  than  three.  To 
confirm  the  conclusions  justified  by  the  facts  found  in  genealogies  he 
also  gives  data  from  the  Rhode  Island  State  Census  of  1905  showing: 
(1)  That  only  71.6  per  cent  of  the  native  women  15-45  years  of  age 
were  married,  while  82.5  per  cent  of  the  foreign  women  in  the  same 
group  were  married;  (2)  that  the  average  number  of  children  born  to 
a  native  white  woman  was  2.06,  while  to  a  foreign  white  woman  it  was 
3.35  (twenty  years  earlier  the  figures  were  3.49  and  5.38  respectively); 

(3)  that  the  proportion  of  native  married  women  with  one  child  was 
23.4  per  cent,  while  that  of  foreign  married  women  was  16.4  per  cent; 

(4)  that  only  19.8  per  cent  of  the  native  married  women  had  more  than 
three  children,  while  38.7  per  cent  of  the  foreign  married  women 

iKuczynski  (R.  R.)— Quart.  J.  Econom.,  1901,  XVI,  1-36,  141-186. 
*  Hoffman    (Frederick   L.) — Decline  in  the   Birth   Rate.     A'".    Am.   Rev.,    1909, 
CLXXXIX,  675-687. 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  99 

belonged  to  this  class;  and  (5)  that  at  the  age  of  25,  39.0  per  cent  and 
at  the  age  of  30,  29.1  per  cent  of  the  native  married  women  were 
childless,  while  for  foreign  married  w^omen  at  the  same  ages  the  per- 
centages were  25.6  and  15.9  respectively. 

A  study  made  by  the  registrar  of  vital  statistics  for  Michigan^ 
on  the  "fecundity  of  marriage  by  nativity"  in  that  state,  shows  that 
for  the  twenty-year  period  ending  with  1894  the  number  of  children 
born  per  marriage  where  the  mother  was  native  was  3.2,  and  that 
where  the  mother  was  foreign  both  it  was  5.6.  The  Registrar  con- 
cludes that  Michigan  is  rapidly  following  Massachusetts  and  other 
eastern  states  in  its  population  movement  and  that  within  a  short 
time  its  native  population  will  be  submerged  by  immigrants  and  their 
descendants.  He  quotes  the  following  from  the  State  Census  as 
being  in  entire  agreement  with  the  conclusions  he  would  draw  from 
his  own  study  of  birth  rates  among  the  native-born  and  foreign-born 
classes : 

"Of  the  53,228  children  tabulated,  the  parents  and  grandparents  of  10,880  were 
all  native,  and  the  parents  and  grandparents  of  20,080  were  all  foreign-born.  The 
former  number  is  1.20  per  cent  of  the  native  inhabitants  with  native  parents,  and 
the  latter  is  3.72  per  cent  of  the  foreign-born  with  foreign-born  parents.  The  latter 
number  is  1.8.5  times  the  former." 

A  recent  investigation  of  the  size  of  the  families  of  the  graduates  of 
eight  eastern  women's  colleges  and  one  co-educational  institution,^ 
shows  that  the  average  number  of  children  born  to  those  who  have 
children  in  2.1.  This  figure  is  somewhat  too  low  because  it  includes 
many  of  the  graduates  of  recent  years  who  have  been  married  but  a 
short  time  and  who,  therefore,  are  not  through  child-bearing.  The 
average  number  of  children  born  to  graduates  in  classes  prior  to  1880 
who  have  married  and  have  had  children  is  2.9;  to  those  in  classes 
between  1880  and  1890,  2.8  children;  and  to  those  in  classes  between 
1890  and  1900,  2.6  children.  Inasmuch  as  it  is  not  safe  to  assume 
that  the  graduates  between  1890  and  1900  who  were  married  and  had 
had  children  were  through  child-bearing  in  1915,  when  the  investiga- 
tion was  made,  wc  shall  probably  not  make  a  very  grave  error  if  we 
assume  that  their  final  average  will  be  approximately  the  same  as 
that  of  the  graduates  between  1880  and  1890— viz.,  2.8. 

This  same  investigation  shows  that  of  the  graduates  prior  to  1880 
only  80.7  per  cent  of  those  married  had  had  children;    of  those  in 

'  Twentij-cighlh  Registration  Report,  Michigan,  1894. 

2  Van  KJeeck  (Mary),—/.  Ass.  Colleg.  Alum.,  May,  1918. 


100  WARREN    S.,  THOMPSON 

classes  between  1880  and  1890  only  77.7  per  cent;  and  of  those  in 
classes  between  1890  and  1900  only  78.3  per  cent.  Thus  we  see  that 
the  graduates  of  these  colleges  who  marry  and  raise  families  have 
scarcely  enough  children  to  replace  themselves  and  their  husbands  in 
the  next  generation,  to  saj^  nothing  of  the  20-22  per  cent  who  marry 
and  have  no  children  and  the  40-50  per  cent  who  do  not  many.  If 
we  take  for  granted  that  there  is  a  bachelor  for  every  unmarried  woman 
among  college  graduates  the  situation  might  be  expressed  as  follows: 
Out  of  each  1,000  men  and  women  belonging  to  this  class  400  do  not 
marry,  of  the  600  married  couples  120  are  childless,  leaving  480  who 
have  children  with  a  total  of  1,344  children  born  to  them,  of  whom 
approximately  1,150  live  to  reach  the  average  age  of  college  graduates. 
A  few  of  these  will  die  before  they  reach  the  customary  age  of  marriage. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  conservative  estimate  to  say  of  this  class  as  a  whole, 
that  deaths  are  to  births  as  2000  :  1100,  or  20  :  11.^  It  is  very  clear 
that  this  class  is  not  sustaining  itself  and  that  the  conclusions  arrived 
at  by  the  studies  cited  above  certainly  hold  true  for  this  particular 
group  of  the  native  population. 

An  investigation  made  by  the  Immigration  Commission  several 
years  ago  still  further  confirms  the  general  belief  that  the  native 
population  is  being  rapidly  supplanted  by  the  immigrant  stocks.  In 
this  investigation  it  was  found  that  in  ^  Rhode  Island  the  average 
number  of  children  born  to  native  white  women  of  native  parentage, 
married  ten  to  nineteen  years,  was  2.5,  while  the  average  number  born 
to  white  women  of  foreign  parentage,  married  ten  to  nineteen  years, 
was  4.5;  for  Cleveland  the  figures  were  2.4  and  4.3;  for  Minneapolis 
2.4  and  3.8;  for  certain  rural  counties  in  Ohio  3.4  and  4.5;  and  for 
certain  rural  counties  in  Minnesota  3.4  and  5.2,  respectively. 

After  one  has  examined  a  number  of  studies  such  as  those  referred 
to  above,  he  is  likely  to  feel  that  it  is  only  a  matter  of  a  few  decades 
(with  immigrants  coming  as  rapidly  as  they  were  before  the  war) 
until  the  older  stocks,  Celtic,  Teutonic  and  Scandinavian  as  well  as 
Anglo-Saxon,  will  be  supplanted  by  the  newer  Latin,  Slavic  and 
Hebrew  stocks. 

The  evidence  submitted  is  seemingly  overwhelming.  It  will  be 
noticed,  however,  that  most  of  the  data  upon  which  these  studies 
are  based  have  been  gathered  from  the  northeastern  states — largely 

^  The  death  rate  used  in  the  above  calculation  is  the  extremely  low  one  found  by 
this  study  to  exist  in  this  class — viz.,  that  only  13.0  per  cent  of  the  children  of 
graduates  prior  to  1880  had  died  by  1915. 


RACE   SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  101 

from  New  England.  The  question  naturally  arises,  therefore,  whether 
the  population  movements  of  this  section  of  the  country  are  typical 
of  those  taking  place  elsewhere.  It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the 
probabilities  are  against  this  being  the  case.  The  social  and  industrial 
conditions  in  the  northeast  are  so  entirely  different  from  those  in  most 
other  sections  that  it  would  be  strange  if  the  population  movements 
there  were  the  same  in  nature  and  extent  as  they  are  in  other  parts  of 
the  nation.  The  northeast  is  a  relatively  denselj^  settled  area  in  which 
manufacturing  and  commerce  are  the  predominant  interests,  while 
agriculture  is  the  predominant  interest  in  most  of  the  other  states. 
Again,  the  population  of  the  northeast  is  much  more  heterogeneous 
than  that  of  most  other  sections.  Not  only  did  the  northeast  retain 
its  due  share  of  immigrants  before  1890  but  it  has  retained  most  of 
those  who  have  come  in  since  that  time,  for  the  newer  stocks  which 
occasion  so  much  concern  to  most  writers  on  race  suicide  are  to  be 
found  mostly  in  the  northeast  and  a  few  large  cities  along  the  Great 
Lakes. 

Since  this  is  the  case  it  becomes  necessary,  in  order  to  study  popula- 
tion movements,  to  classify  our  population  not  only  on  the  basis  of 
state  of  residence  but  also  on  the  basis  of  type  of  work  done.  For 
this  purpose  I  have  adopted  the  Census  classification  of  urban  and 
rural.  I  believe  that  if  we  can  measure  the  relative  rates  of  increase 
in  these  groups  as  well  as  in  the  different  states  we  can  arrive  at  a 
more  accurate  notion  of  population  movements  in  our  country. 

If  we  had  good  statistics  of  births  and  deaths  for  all  states  and  their 
minor  civil  divisions,  we  could  tell  what  the  natural  increase  is  in 
cities,  counties  and  even  townships,  as  well  as  in  the  state  as  a  whole. 
By  using  the  data  of  the  Federal  Census  in  connection  with  data  from 
the  vital  statistics  of  the  states,  we  could  compare  the  rate  of  growth 
in  political  units  having  populations  chiefly  composed  of  different 
stocks.  Unfortunately  only  a  few  states  have  comprehensive  birth 
statistics  and  these  must  be  used  with  many  reservations.  For  one 
thing,  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  data  for  the  rural  districts 
are  more  defective  than  those  for  the  cities,  so  that  a  comparison 
between  the  rates  of  growth  in  these  two  classes  on  the  basis  of  pub- 
lished vital  statistics  is  fraught  with  danger.  In  addition  to  this 
difficulty  all  places  having  less  than  10,000  people  are  classed  as  rural 
in  the  federal  reports  on  births,  while  only  those  having  less  than  2,500 
are  so  classed  in  the  decennial  census.  Furthermore,  the  birth  rates 
and  death  rates  for  intercensal  years  are  based  on  estimates  of  popula- 


102  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

tion  and  are  liable  to  a  considerable  error  with  regard  to  an_y  particular 
city,  county  or  state.  Lastly,  the  age  and  sex  distribution  in  different 
areas  are  so  unlike  that  crude  birth  rates  and  death  rateis  tell  us  but 
very  little  regarding  the  fecundity  of  women  in  these  different  areas. 

In  view  of  these  facts  the  writer  has  prepared  some  tables  from  data 
given  in  the  Federal  Census  of  1910  which  he  believes  will  show  the 
most  significant  population  movements  in  the  United  States  better 
than  such  birth  statistics  as  we  now  have. 

The  general  method  used  in  the  preparation  of  these  tables — that  of 
showing  the  proportion  of  children  at  certain  ages  to  women  of  child- 
bearing  age — is  one  which  Professor  Wilcox  has  made  familiar  to  all 
those  interested  in  our  population  problems.  It  is  not  claimed  that 
these  tables  show  us  the  exact  rates  of  increase  in  the  urban  and  rural 
populations  of  the  different  states,  but  merely  that  they  will  enable  us 
to  determine  with  fair  accuracy  what  groups  are  contributing  most 
children  to  the  next  generation.  This  is  all  we  need  to  do  in  a  dis- 
cussion of  race  suicide  in  the  United  States.  For  the  phrase  race 
suicide  has  never  been  used  by  those  conversant  with  population 
facts  to  refer  to  a  low  rate  of  natural  increase,  but  rather  to  the  fact 
that  the  children  contributed  by  one  nation  or  class  to  the  next 
generation  were  relatively  fewer  than  those  contributed  by  another 
nation  or  class.  The  natural  consequence  of  such  a  situation  is  that 
the  nation  or  class  with  a  low  child-contributing  rate  is  supplanted 
sooner  or  later  by  a  nation  or  class  with  a  higher  child-contributing 
rate.  In  the  United  States  the  serious  question  is,  whether  the  people 
from  northern  and  western  Europe — British,  Scandinavian  and  Teu- 
tonic— are  being  supplanted  by  those  from  southern  and  eastern 
Europe — Mediterranean,  Slavic,  and  Hebrew — and  not  whether  the 
natural  increase  of  the  nation  as  a  whole  is  sufficiently  high.  There 
seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  the  rate  of  natural  increase  for  the  nation 
as  a  whole  (i.e.,  annual  excess  of  births  over  deaths  per  1,000  of  the 
population)  is  as  high  as  that  of  most  civilized  countries. 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES 


103 


Table  I — Showing  the  Proportion  of  Children  to  Women  in  the  United 
States,  the  Geographic  Divisions  and  the  States:  also  the  Proportion 
OF  Women  ant)  of  the  XATm;  Born  of  Native  Parents  in  the  Total  Popu- 
lation of  these  Different  Areas 


No.  Children 

Percent  of  Total 

Under  5  Yrs. 

No.  Children 

Population 

Percent  of  Totai 

Geographic  Area 

per  1,000 

5-9  Yrs.  per 

Comprised  by 

Population 

Women  15-44 

1,000  Women 

Women  15-44 

Native  Born  of 

Yrs. 

15-44  Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Native  Parents 

United  States:   whites 

Urban 

382 

341 

25.4 

41.9 

Rural 

603 

555 

21.2 

64.1 

New  England  States: 

Urban 

384 

345 

25.7 

33.9 

Rural 

458 

437         1 

20.4 

69.8 

Maine: 

Urban 

388 

359 

24.3 

65.1 

Rural • 

493 

458        ; 

20.2 

78.9 

New  Hampshire: 

Urban 

385 

353 

24.7 

41.0 

Rural 

428 

409 

20.3 

71.5 

Vermont  : 

Urban 

392 

370 

24.1 

54.3 

Rural 

489 

472 

20.0 

73.6 

Massachusetts  : 

Urban 

376 

336 

26.2 

30.8 

Rural 

412 

399 

21.3 

58.6 

Rhode  Island: 

Urban 

390 

428 

349 
396 

25.7 
21.0 

28.2 

Rural 

66.2 

Connt:cticut  : 

Urban 

405 

363 

25.2 

33.1 

Rural 

450 

441 

20.3 

56.4 

Middle  Atlantic  States: 

Urban 

402 

351 

26.2 

34.4 

Rural 

518 

477 

21.2 

67.0 

New  York: 

Urban 

379 

332 

26.9 

27.2 

Rural 

420 

407 

21.2 

66.1 

New  Jersey: 

Urban 

420 

374 

25.8 

33.6 

Rural 

440 

382 

22.4 

58.7 

Pennsylvania: 

Urban 

433 

373 

25.4 

45.8 

Rural 

599 

534 

20.9 

69.2 

East  North  Central 

States  : 

Urban 

382 
523 

340 
506 

25.9 
21.3 

41.7 

Rural 

66.5 

Ohio: 

Urban 

370 

324 

26.1 

51.0 

Rural 

500 

478 

21.4 

79.6 

Indiana: 

Urban 

361 

335 

25.7 

67.8 

Rural 

503 

493 

21.7 

87.0 

Michigan: 

Urban 

395 

347 

25.6 

35.5 

Rural 

535 

i         513 

20.7 

50.8 

104 


WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 
Table  I — (Continued) 


Geographic  Area 

No.  Children 
Under  5  Yrs. 

per  I.OCO 

Women  15-44 

Yrs. 

No.  Children 

5-9  Yrs.  per 

1,000  Women 

15-44  Yrs. 

Percent  of  Total 

Population 

Comprised  by 

Women  15-44 

Yrs. 

Percent  of  Total 

Population 
Native  Born  of 
Native  Parents 

Illinois  : 

Urban            

388 

529 

398 
562 

344 

582 

353 

598 

335 
526 

328 
583 

384 
716 

355 
618 

361 
581 

367 

567 

393 

678 

401 
447 

366 
516 

299 

390 
646 

410 
703 

465 
716 

342 
507 

369 
557 

317 
548 

319 
602 

325 
508 

303 
549 

325 
607 

326 
563 

321 
534 

339 
525 

354 

604 

344 
455 

348 
505 

279 

353 

599 

359 
615 

395 
620 

26.1 
21.8 

25.4 
20.8 

26.4 
21.3 

26.1 
20.3 

25.9 
21.8 

27.2 
21.6 

26.9 
20.6 

25.9 
21.2 

26.3 
21.7 

25.7 
21.5 

26.4 
21.5 

25.1 
21.8 

26.4 
22.2 

27.4 

26.5 
21.6 

26.3 
21.0 

26.3 
21.4 

32.3 

Rural            

68.4 

Wisconsin: 

Urban 

28.5 

Rural 

West  North  Central 
States : 

Urban 

Rural 

MlNNESOT.\: 

Urban 

Rural 

Iowa  : 

Urban 

Rural 

Missouri: 

Urban 

Rural 

North  Dakota: 

Urban 

Rural 

35.9 

51.2 
58.5 

29.2 

26.7 

58.2 
58.8 

55.0 

85.5 

37.7 
27.0 

South  Dakota: 

Urban 

Rural 

Nebraska: 

Urban 

51.5 
40.6 

51.8 

Rural 

Kansas  : 

Urban 

Rural 

54.6 

70.3 

71.8 

South  Atlantic  States: 
Urban        

54.2 

Rural 

62.2 

Delaware  : 

Urban 

52.9 

Rural 

72.7 

Maryland: 

Urban 

50.7 

Rural 

67.9 

District  of  Columbia: 
White 

50.4 

Virginia: 

Urban        

59.4 

Rural 

65.7 

West  Virginia: 
Urban 

74.8 

Rural 

87.8 

North  Carolina: 
Urban 

61.2 

Rural 

68.4 

RACE  SUICIDE  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES 


105 


Table  I — (Continued) 


Geographic  Area 

No.  Children 
Under  5  Yrs. 

per  1,000 
Women  15-44 

Yrs. 

No.  Children 

5-9  Yrs.  per 

1,000  Women 

15-44  Yrs. 

Percent  of  Total 

Population 

Comprised  by 

Women  15-44 

Yrs. 

Percent  of  Total 

Population 
Native  Born  of 
Native  Parents 

South  Carolina: 

Urban 

441 

379 

26.2 

49.6 

Rural 

702 

603 

21.9 

42.7 

Georgia  : 

Urban 

418 

372 

1         26.6 

52.4 

Rural 

727 

639 

21.4 

53.5 

Florida  : 

Urban 

437 

387 

25.7 

37.1 

Rural 

683 

607 

21.1 

54.8 

East  South  Central 

States : 

Urban                   

378 
696 

349 
619 

26.7 
21.6 

54.4 

Rural 

67.2 

Kentucky: 

Urban 

340 
669 

325 
609 

27.0 
1  .      21.6 

58.2 

Rural 

88.8 

Tennessee  : 

Urban 

366 

335 

27.2 

57.2 

Rural 

671       ' 

599 

21.9 

80.4 

Alabama  : 

Urban , 

453 

398 

26.0 

49.8 

Rural 

752 

651 

21.3 

56.2 

Mlssissippi: 

Urban 

427 

390 

'         26.1 

46.7 

Rural 

727 

641 

1        21.5 

41.5 

West  South  Central 

1 

States  : 

Urban 

405 

384 

26.0 

58.4 

Rural 

729 

658 

21.2 

67.7 

Arkansas  : 

Urban 

396 

371 

26.5 

61.0 

Rural 

754 

653 

21.2 

69.5 

Louisiana  : 

Urban 

391 

385 

26.2 

43.8 

Rural 

765 

699 

21.0 

48.2 

Okl.\homa: 

Urban 

421 

379 

25.5 

76.0 

Rural 

735 

658 

1        21.0 

79.8 

Texas: 

1 

Urban 

405 

388 

;        26.1 

59.5 

Rural 

708 

651 

I        21.3 

69.1 

Mountain  States: 

Urban 

382 

350 

1        25.5 

51.9 

Rural 

641 

564 

I         19.9 

57.8 

Montana: 

Urban 

378 
570 

340 
505 

24.7 
18.7 

40.3 

Rural 

44.7 

Idaho : 

375 

347 

24.4 

62.7 

Rural 

674 

598 

19.9 

62.5 

Wyoming: 

1 

Urban 

396 

348 

22.6 

51.7 

Rural 

629 

528 

18.2 

56.8 

106 


WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 
Table  I — (Continued) 


No.  Children 

Percent  of  Total 

Under  5  Yrs. 

No.  Children 

Population 

Percent  of  Total 

Geographic  Area 

per  1,000 

5-9  Yrs.  per 

Comprised  by 

Population 

■Women  15-44 

Native  Born  of 

Yrs. 

15-44  Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Native  Parents 

Colorado : 

Urban 

321 

307 

26.9 

56.9 

Rural 

593 

525 

20.6 

62.1 

New  Mexico: 

Urban 

425 

409 

26.2 

74.0 

Rural 

679 

609 

20.8 

78.8 

Arizona  : 

Urban 

439 

385 

24.5 

42.1 

Rural 

634 

545 

19.4 

39.6 

Utah: 

Urban 

515 

445 

24.3 

42.5 

Rural 

792 

693 

19.9 

48.9 

Nevada: 

Urban 

290 

279 

25.6 

49.8 

Rural 

425 

366 

18.6 

41.8 

Pacific  States: 

Urban 

301 

271 

25.7 

46.9 

Rural 

509 

480 

19.9 

54.8 

Washington  : 

Urban 

335 

303 

24.6 

48.7 

Rural 

566 

529 

19.6 

54.2 

Oregon: 

Urban 

288 

263  , 

25.5 

55.4 

Rural 

524 

507 

20.0 

67.5 

California  : 

Urban 

290 

261 

26.2 

44.4 

Rural 

469 

439 

20.0 

50.0 

THE  PROPORTION  OF  CHILDREN  IN  THE  RURAL  AND  URBAN  POPULATION 

The  above  data  throw  considerable  light  on  the  child-producing 
rates  of  women  in  the  rural  and  urban  populations  of  the  United  States 
and  its  constituent  parts. 

In  the  United  States  as  a  whole  the  white  women^  of  child-bearing 
ages  in  the  rural  districts  had  221  more  children  under  five  years  of 
age  to  each  1,000  than  the  women  of  the  urban  districts — i.e.,  each 
1,000  rural  women  15-44  j^ears  of  age  had  about  58  per  cent  more 
children  under  5  living  at  the  time  of  the  census  than  the  women 
in  the  urban  districts.  The  actual  numbers  of  women  and  children 
in  these  two  classes  are  well  worth  giving.  There  were  10,382,634 
women  in  this  age  group  in  the  urban  districts  having  3,966,957  chil- 
dren under  5,  while  there  were  only  8,877,985  women  in  the  same 
age  group  in  the  rural  districts  but  they  had  5,355,957  children  under 
5.     Although  there  were  only  85.5  per  cent  as  many  women  in  the 

^  The  discussion  will  refer  only  to  the  white  population  unless  negroes  should  be 
specifically  mentioned.     Table  I  gives  data  for  white  population  only. 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  107 

rural  districts  as  in  the  urban  yet  they  had  35  per  cent  more  children. 
If  the  women  in  the  urban  districts  had  had  as  many  living  children 
under  5,  per  1,000,  as  the  women  in  the  rural  districts  they  would 
have  had  a  total  of  about  6,261,000  instead  of  only  3,966,957. 

Not  only  in  the  United  States,  as  a  whole,  was  the  proportion  of 
children  to  women  larger  in  the  rural  districts  than  in  the  urban 
districts,  but  this  was  also  true  for  every  state  in  the  Union.  In  the 
New  England  states  the  difference  was  not  large — a  little  over  19 
per  cent — and  in  Massachusetts  it  was  only  9.6  per  cent.  In  some 
states,  however,  the  difference  was  over  80  per  cent — 86.5  per  cent 
in  North  Dakota  and  83.3  per  cent  in  Tennessee. 

THE    URBAN    POPULATION 

In  the  urban  population  the  proportion  of  children  is  generally 
between  300  and  400  to  1,000  women  of  between  15  and  44  years. 
In  a  few  states  of  the  northeast,  in  most  of  the  southern  states  and  in 
a  few  of  the  mountain  states  it  exceeds  400.  In  only  one  state — Utah — 
does  it  exceed  500,  while  in  two  states  only — California  and  Oregon — and 
the  District  of  Columbia,  is  the  proportion  of  children  less  than  300. 
In  spite  of  several  exceptions,  I  believe  one  is  justified  in  making  the 
following  general  statement  regarding  the  proportion  of  children  in  the 
urban  population  of  the  different  states : 

Those  states  in  which  the  white  population  is  mostly  of  the  older 
stock — the  southern  states — have  the  largest  proportion  of  children; 
those  states  having  a  considerable  percentage  of  newer  immigrants  in 
their  population — mainly  in  the  northeast — have  the  second  largest 
proportion  of  children;  next  come  those  states  in  which  older  immi- 
grants predominate — e.g.,  Wisconsin  and  Michigan — and  lastly  those 
states  in  which  old  native  stock  and  the  older  immigrants  seem  to  be 
pretty  nearly  equal  in  numbers. 

In  view  of  these  facts  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  newer  immi- 
grants who  live  chiefly  in  the  cities  of  the  northeast  and  in  those  of 
tiie  Great  Lakes  region  are  contributing  by  far  the  largest  increment  to 
our  urban  population  year  by  year  by  an  excess  of  births  over  deaths. 

THE    RURAL    POPULATION 

In  sharp  contrast  to  the  great  uniformity  in  proportion  of  children 
to  women  in  the  urban  population  is  the  wide  variation  in  the  propor- 
tion of  children  in  the  rural  population — from  412  in  Massachusetts  to 


108  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

792  in  Utah.  In  general,  the  proportion  is  smallest  in  those  states  of 
the  northeast  where  agriculture  is  of  least  importance  and  greatest 
in  the  south  and  southwest  where  agriculture  occupies  the  attention  of 
almost  the  entire  white  population.  The  states  in  the  middle  west  and 
west  have,  as  a  rule,  a  larger  proportion  of  children  than  the  states  of  the 
northeast  but  a  smaller  proportion  than  those  of  the  south  and  south- 
west, and  in  most  of  these  states  the  proportion  of  the  population 
engaged  in  agriculture  is  greater  than  in  the  states  of  the  northeast 
but  smaller  than  in  the  states  of  the  south  and  southwest. 

The  full  significance  of  the  relatively  high  proportion  of  children 
in  the  rural  population  becomes  clear  when  we  consider  this  fact  in 
connection  with  the  data  in  the  fourth  column  of  Table  I.  In  prac- 
tically every  state  the  rural  population  contains  a  much  greater 
proportion  of  native  born  of  native  parents  than  the  urban  population. 
Of  the  rural  white  population  over  three-fourths  is  native  born  of 
native  parentage,  while  only  about  four-ninths  of  the  urban  white 
population  belongs  to  this  class.  Furthermore,  the  one-fourth  of  the 
rural  population  which  is  of  foreign  stock  is  composed  chiefly  of 
Teutonic,  Scandinavian,  Irish  and  English  immigrants  and  their  chil- 
dren, so  that  the  bulk  of  our  rural  population  is  of  the  same  general 
strain. 

In  view  of  the  facts  adduced  above  there  seems  no  good  reason  to 
fear  that  race  suicide  is  taking  place  in  the  whole  of  the  United  States. 
The  older  native  stock  is  not  yielding  its  place  to  the  newer  immigrants 
except  in  the  cities  of  the  northeast.  It  is  the  rural  population  ap- 
parently which  is  destined  to  supplant  the  city  population.  Although 
the  newer  immigrant  women  who  live  very  largely  in  the  cities  have  a 
higher  birth  rate  than  the  native  women  with  whom  they  come  into 
competition,  yet  they  do  not  have  as  high  a  birth  rate  as  the  rural 
women.  Moreover,  they  soon  succumb  to  the  influences  of  the  city 
environment  so  that  their  birth  rate  becomes  lower.  In  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  Immigration  Commission  in  Rhode  Island  it  was  found  that 
of  white  women  of  foreign  parentage  under  45  years  of  age  and  married 
10-19  years,  7.2  per  cent  of  the  first  generation  had  no  children  and 
10.5  per  cent  of  the  second  generation,  while  in  rural  Minnesota  the 
percentages  were  2.6  and  2.8  respectively.  The  average  number  of 
children  born  to  women  of  these  groups  in  Rhode  Island  was  4.7  in 
the  first  generation  and  3.9  in  the  second  generation,  while  in  rural 
Minnesota  the  averages  were  5.5  and  4.7  respectively.  This  same 
investigation  also  showed  that  the  percentage  of  childlessness  among 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  109 

the  immigrant  women  of  certain  cities,  married  10-19  years,  was 
greater  than  among  the  native  women,  married  the  same  length  of 
time,  in  certain  country  districts. 

Table  II — Showing  Number  of  Children  under  5  Years  of  Age  per  1,000 
M.vRRiED,  Widowed  or  Divorced  White  Women  1.5-44  Years  of  Age;  also 
Percentage  of  these  Women  ake  op  All  Women  of  these  Ages  in  the 
Urban  and  Rural  Populations  of  the  United  States  ant)  its  Geographic 
Divisions.    Census  1910 


Geographic  Area 

Percentage  Married,  Widowed 

or  Divorced  Women  1 5-44  are  to 

all  Women  15-44 

Number  of  Children  Under  5 

to  1,000  Married,  Widowed  or 

Divorced  Women 

Urban 

Rural 

Urban 

Rural 

United  States 

57.8 

53.9 
56.7 
59.2 

57.4        i 
58.4         ■ 

59.8  1 

63.9  '  i 
63.6        I 
61.6        ! 

64.6 
63.8 
62.7 
63.2 
62.0 
63.7 
66.5 
69.5 
70.6 
67.6 

660 
714 
709 
645 
599 
672 
632 
633 
601 
489 

933 

New  England .  .  .  . ' 

Middle  Atlantic 

718 

827 

East  North  Central 

828 

West  North  Central 

South  Atlantic 

East  South  Central 

937 
1066 
1047 

West  South  Central 

Mountain 

Pacific 

1050 
907 
754 

It  may  be  argued  against  the  position  taken  here  that  the  reason 
the  proportion  of  children  is  higher  in  the  country  than  in  the  city,  is 
because  the  percentage  of  women  of  child-bearing  ages  in  the  total 
population  is  much  smaller  in  the  rural  districts  than  in  the  cities 
(see  column  3  of  Table  I),  and  also  that  the  percentage  of  married 
women  is  higher  in  the  rural  districts  than  in  the  cities  (columns  1  and 

2  of  Table  II).  These  facts  cannot  be  disputed  but  they  do  not  prove 
that  country  women  do  not  raise  more  children  than  city  women. 
They  merely  point  to  two  of  the  reasons  why  the  proportion  of  children 
to  women  is  larger  in  the  country  than  in  the  city.     Table  II,  columns 

3  and  4,  shows  that  when  allowance  is  made  for  the  fact  that  the 
percentage  of  women  is  smaller  in  the  rural  districts  than  in  the  cities 
and  also  for  the  fact  that  more  of  them  marry,  the  proportion  of  chil- 
dren to  women  is  still  much  larger  in  the  rural  districts.  In  the 
United  States  as  a  whole  1,000  married  women  between  15-44  years, 
living  in  the  country,  have  41.3  per  cent  more  children  under  5  than 
1,000  city  women.  In  New  England  alone  there  is  practically  no 
difference  in  the  number  of  children  per  1,000  married  women  15-44 
in  the  rural  and  urban  districts.  In  the  Middle  Atlantic  States  the 
difference  is  16.6  per  cent,  in  the  East  North  Central  States  it  is  28.4 


110  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

per  cent,  while  in  all  other  sections  it  is  over  50  per  cent.  The  married 
women  of  the  urban  districts  constituted  51.1  per  cent  of  all  married 
women  but  they  had  only  42.5  per  cent  of  the  children  under  5. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  facts  regarding  the  proportion  of  children  to 
married  women  also  support  the  conclusions  drawn  from  Table  I. 
It  is  the  women  in  the  rural  districts  who  are  raising  the  greater  part 
of  the  children  of  the  next  generation,  and  these  women  are  largely 
of  the  same  basic  stock  as  that  by  which  the  nation  was  originally 
constituted. 

The  facts  regarding  where  the  children  of  the  United  States  are 
found  show  beyond  question  that  so  far  as  race  suicide  is  a  fact  it  is 
confined  to  certain  classes  of  the  urban  population,  and  to  the  rural 
population  of  a  few  states  where  urban  industrial  life  is  so  predominant 
that  its  influence  is  strongly  felt  even  in  the  rural  districts.  It  is  due 
to  the  fact  most  people  have  only  studied  the  movements  of  population 
in  a  few  states  where  urban  industrial  life  is  almost  universal  that 
there  is  such  widespread  misapprehension  of  the  real  situation.  I 
would  not  be  understood  to  overlook  the  likelihood  that  the  older 
stocks  in  this  country  may  be  supplanted  by  the  newer  immigrants. 
But,  in  my  judgment,  this  will  not  come  about  by  the  immigrant 
mother  raising  more  children  than  the  mother  of  older  stock  (so  long 
as  the  newer  immigrant  women  live  in  cities  and  the  women  of  older 
stocks  live  in  the  country),  but  rather  by  there  being  more  women  of 
these  newer  stocks  than  of  the  older  stocks — i.e.,  immigration  may  be 
so  large  as  to  swamp  the  older  stocks.  The  influx  of  people  from  other 
countries  is,  in  many  respects,  a  separate  problem  from  that  of  race 
suicide  and  will  only  be  touched  upon  in  this  paper  where  necessary. 

DIFFERENCES  IN  DEATH  RATES  IN  THE  URBAN  AND  RURAL  POPULATION 

The  following  table  gives  in  very  brief  form  the  best  data  available 
regarding  the  differences  in  the  death  rates  of  the  urban  and  rural 
population  r^ 

This  table  shows  that  the  death  rates  for  both  sexes  are  consider- 
ably higher  in  the  city  than  in  the  country.  There  is  one  exception. 
Women  at  the  age  of  20  have  a  slightly  lower  death  rate  in  the  city 
than  in  the  country.     Moreover,  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  these 

1  All  places  having  under  8,000  population  in  1900  and  under  10,000  population 
in  1910  are  considered  rural.  As  will  be  pointed  out  below  this  method  of  determining 
urban  and  rural  tends  to  exaggerate  the  death  rate  in  the  rural  population.  These 
data  are  compiled  from  "United  States  Life  Tables"  published  by  the  Bureau  of 
Census,  1916. 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES 


111 


data  understate  the  difference  in  death  rates  because  the  population 
of  all  places  having  between  2,500  and  10,000  is  included  with  the 
rural  population  and  in  the  northeast  such  places  are  usualty  manu- 
facturing towns.  In  these  small  manufacturing  towns  the  living 
conditions  are  often  as  bad  or  even  worse  than  they  are  in  the  large 
cities  and  so  including  these  towns  with  the  rural  districts  would 
undoubtedl}'  raise  the  death  rates  of  the  latter. 


NuJiBER  OF  Deaths  per  Annuji  per  1000  Persons  Living  at  Different  Ages: 
Original  Registration  States  :i   1910  (Whites  Only) 


Males 

Females 

Urban                     Rural 

Urban                   Rural 

Under  1  year  of  age 

During  tenth  vear 

133.80 

2.88 

103.26 

2.17 

4.31 

5.33 

6.90 

10.24 

21.19 

48.79 

111.23 

2.52 

3.82 

6.08 

8.58 

13.74 

28.65 

59.16 

84.97 
1.88 

During  twentieth  year 

During  thirtieth  year 

During  fortieth  jear 

During  fiftieth  year 

During  sixtieth  year 

During  seventieth  year 

4.49 

6.83 
11.61 
18.34    ' 
36.07 
69.42 

3.97 
5.44 
6.53 
9.43 

18.72 
45.12 

Some  studies  of  infant  mortality  made  by  the  U.  S.  Children's 
Bureau  show  beyond  question  that  the  death  rate  of  infants  under  1 
year  is  much  smaller  in  the  open  country  than  in  cities.  In  Water- 
bury,  Conn.,  the  infant  mortality  rate  (the  number  of  children  dying 
during  the  first  year  of  life  per  1,000  born  alive)  was  found  to  be  122.7; 
in  Saginaw,  Mich.,  it  was  84.6;  in  Brockton,  Mass.,  it  was  96.7;  in 
Johnstown,  Pa.,  it  was  134.0;  and  in  Manchester,  N.  H.,  it  was  165.0. 
In  a  rural  district  in  Montana  the  infant  mortality  rate  (approximate) 
was  found  to  be  71;  in  a  rural  district  in  Kansas  it  was  40;  in  a  low 
land  rural  district  in  North  Carolina  it  was  48.1  for  the  whites  and 
64.4  for  the  negroes. 

The  North  Carolina  report  says:^ 

"A  comparison  of  the  findings  of  these  rural  surveys  with  the 
findings  of  infant  mortality  studies  in  cities  and  towns,  tends  to  con- 
firm the  impression  that  rural  conditions  are  distinctly  more  favorable 
than  urban  conditions  to  infant  life."  All  of  the  mortality  reports 
issued  by  the  Census  Bureau  confirm  this  view.     In  Massachusetts 

'  The  original  registration  states  are  chiefly  in  the  northeast. 
*  Rural  Children  in  Selected  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  Children's  Bureau  Pub. 
No.  33,  1918,  37. 


112  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

the  infant  mortality  rate  for  the  "Registration  Cities"  was  102,  while 
in  the  rural  part  of  the  registration  area  of  Massachusetts  it  was  92. ^ 
But  this  is  not  a  fair  comparison,  because  many  people  who  are 
living  under  urban  conditions  are  included  with  the  rural  population. 
A  fairer  comparison  will  be  between  the  rate  of  the  registration  cities 
and  that  of  the  rural  area  in  those  states  where  the  rural  area  includes 
the  largest  proportion  of  population  really  living  in  the  open  country. 
In  the  cities  of  the  registration  area  in  1915  the  infant  mortality  rate 
for  white  childi;en  was  102,  in  the  rural  part  of  Michigan  it  was  78, 
while  in  the  rural  parts  of  Minnesota  (the  most  representative  agri- 
cultural state  in  the  registration  area)  it  was  only  67.  Although,  as 
was  mentioned  above,  the  incompleteness  of  the  registration  of  births 
(the  Children's  Bureau  has  found  over  10  per  cent  of  the  births  un- 
registered in  all  of  the  cities  where  it  has  made  investigations)  renders 
these  rates  highly  inaccurate,  yet  they  are  of  vahie  for  purposes  of  com- 
parison,- and  when  considered  in  conjunction  with  the  other  data 
given  above,  show  beyond  doubt  that  the  chances  of  a  baby  living 
through  the  first  year  are  from  50  per  cent  to  100  per  cent  greater  in 
the  country  than  in  the  city. 

The  studies  of  the  U.  S.  Children's  Bureau  also  show  that  the 
infant  mortality  rate  of  children  born  to  foreign  mothers  is  generally 
much  greater  than  of  those  born  to  native  mothers.  In  Saginaw, 
Mich.,  the  infant  mortality  rate  of  children  born  to  native  mothers 
was  70.5,  while  of  those  born  to  foreign  mothers  it  was  127.6;  for 
Waterbury,  Conn.,  the  rates  were  97.9  and  134.8  respectively;  for 
Johnstown,  Pa.,  104.3  and  171.3;  for  Manchester,  N.  H.,  128.1  and 
183.5;  and  for  Brockton,  Mass.,  101.5  and  92.0.  Brockton- is  the 
only  city  in  which  the  infant  mortality  rate  among  the  children  of 
natives  was  higher  than  among  the  children  of  foreigners.  Of  this 
situation  the  report  on  infant  mortality  in  Brockton  says:  ''Few,  if 
any,  New  England  manufacturing  cities  have  shown  similar  results."  ^ 
In  the  study  of  the  families  of  the  graduates  of  women's  colleges 
referred  to  above  it  was  found  that  the  infant  mortality  rate  was 
only  45. 

1  The  rural  part  of  the  registration  area  includes  all  places  of  less  than  10,000 
inhabitants  as  well  as  the  open  country. 

'  If  the  situation  in  Kansas  is  at  all  typical  of  that  in  other  states  the  com- 
parison between  infa;nt  mortality  rates  in  the  city  and  country  on  the  basis  of  registra- 
tion reports  is  in  favor  of  the  city  for  it  was  found  that  unregistered  births  were  much 
more  common  in  the  country  than  in  towns. 

3  Infant  Mortality:  Results  of  a  Field  Study  in  Brockton,  Mass.,  Children's 
Bureau  Pub.  No.  37,  1919,  56. 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  113 

The  facts  given  above  justify  the  conclusion  that  in  the  United 
States,  as  a  whole,  the  infant  mortality  rate  of  children  of  native 
mothers  is  not  more  than  55  to  65  per  cent  of  that  of  children  of  foreign 
mothers. 

Reasons  for  a  Larger  Proportion  of  Children  to  Women  in 
THE  Rural  Districts  than  in  the  Urban  Districts 

The  reasons  which  explain  the  fact  that  there  is  a  larger  proportion 
of  children  to  women  in  the  country  than  in  the  city  are  of  two  kinds: 
(1)  those  which  explain  the  lower  death  rate  in  the  countrj^,  and  (2) 
those  which  explain  the  larger  average  number  of  children  born  to 
country  women. 

reasons  for  a  lower  death  rate  in  the  country 

The  investigations  of  the  U.  S.  Children's  Bureau  enable  us  to  say 
with  considerable  certainty  why  the  infant  mortality  rate  is  lower  in 
the  country  than  in  the  city.  One  of  the  chief  causes  of  death  among 
infants  is  found  to  be  gastric  and  intestinal  diseases.  These  diseases 
can  be  avoided  to  a  large  extent  by  proper  feeding.  The  following 
quotation  shows  that  country  babies  fare  better  than  city  babies  in 
this  respect:^ 

"If  the  feeding  history  of  these  country  babies  in  Kansas  is  compared  with  that 
of  the  city  babies  of  native  mothers  in  Johnstown,  Pa.,  and  Manchester,  X.  H. — 
the  first  two  cities  where  this  study  was  made  by  the  Children's  Bureau — and  in 
Akron,  Ohio,  the  larger  of  the  cities  of  the  Middle  West,  we  find  that  exclusive 
breast  feeding  is  much  more  common  through  the  first  nine  months  in  this  Kansas 
county  than  in  any  of  these  (with  the  exception  of  the  last  three  months  in  Akron), 
and,  conversely,  that  artificial  feeding  is  even  more  markedh*  absent.  Since  breast 
feeding,  especially  in  the  early  months,  is  proved  and  acknowledged  to  be  an  im- 
portant factor  in  protecting  a  baby's  chance  of  life,  this  fact  of  the  unusual  prevalence 
of  breast  feeding  probably  accounts,  in  part  at  least,  for  the  low  death  rate  among 
this  group  of  country  babies." 

Quotations  might  be  made  from  other  reports  to  the  same  effect  but 
there  is  no  need  to  accumulate  evidence  on  this  point. 

Another  class  of  important  causes  of  death  among  infants  is  diseases 
of  early  infancy  and  malformations  which  include  premature  birth, 
congenital  debility,  injuries  at  birth,  etc.  In  Waterbury,  31.6  per 
cent  of  all  infant  deaths  were  due  to  conditions  existing  before  the 
birth  of  the  child  or  to  injury  and  accident  at  birth;    of  those  that 

'  Maternity  and  Infant  Care  in  a  Rural  County  in  Kansas.  Children's  Bureau 
Pub.  No.  26,  1917,  42. 


114  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

died  under  two  weeks,  72.7  per  cent  dies  from  these  causes.  It  has 
been  proved  conclusively  that  many  deaths  from  these  causes  are 
preventable  if  the  mother  has  good  prenatal  care  and  the  services  of 
a  skilled  obstetrician  during  confinement;  and  the  investigations  of 
the  Children's  Bureau  show  that  rural  mothers  generally  have  better 
care  than  mothers  among  the  poorer  classes  in  our  cities. 

The  social  and  economic  causes  which  underlie  these  and  other 
medical  causes  of  infant  deaths  cannot  be  discussed  here.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  poor  housing,  low  wages,  work  of  the  mother  outside  of 
the  home,  ignorance,  etc.,  all  contribute  to  a  high  infant  death  rate 
and  that  their  influence  is  felt  more  among  the  workers  of  our  cities 
than  in  the  open  country. 

Out-of-door  life  of  country  people  is  an  important  cause  of  their 
lower  death  rate.  We  have  no  way  of  measuring  the  influence  of  this 
factor  on  the  health  of  people;  but  the  results  of  the  physical  examina- 
tions for  the  first  draft  show  that  those  states  which  are  most  typically 
agricultural  had  a  larger  percentage  of  physically  qualified  men  than 
those  states  which  are  most  typically  industrial  and  commercial.  In 
Kansas  77.22  per  cent  of  those  examined  were  physically  qualified; 
in  Nebraksa  79.85  per  cent;  in  South  Dakota  85.87  per  cent;  and  in 
Iowa  77.82  per  cent.  These  are  all  typically  agricultural  states  in 
which  the  city  population  is  relatively  small,  so  that  boys  from  the 
farms  constituted  a  very  large  percentage  of  all  those  examined. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  Massachusetts  only  64.52  per  cent  of  those 
examined  were  physically  qualified;  in  Connecticut  53.70  per  cent; 
in  New  York  69.47  per  cent;  and  in  Pennsylvania  53.33  per  cent. 
These  states  are  largely  urban,  most  of  the  people  being  engaged  in 
manufacturing,  commerce  and  mining.  The  writer  believes  that  much 
of  this  difference  is  due  to  the  greater  healthfulness  of  the  outdoor  life 
of  country  people.  He  is  well  aware  that  the  country  home  and  its 
surroundings  are  often  subject  to  criticism  from  the  standpoint  of 
health.  In  spite  of  deficiencies,  however,  he  believes  that  the  average 
country  home  is  a  more  healthful  place  to  live  than  the  average  home 
of  a  working  class  family  in  the  city,  and  that  the  better  class  of  country 
homes  are  more  healthful  than  the  better  class  of  city  homes.  At  its 
worst  the  country  has  no  counterpart  of  tenement  life  in  the  big 
cities  and  shanty  life  in  mining  camps  and  mill  towns;  at  its  best  the 
country  has  homes  superior  in  healthfulness  to  the  homes  of  the 
wealthy.  The  proof  of  this  latter  statement  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  wealthy  city  people  actually  spend  a  great  deal  of  their 
time  away  from  their  city  homes  out  in  the  country. 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  115 

Another  reason  for  the  lower  death  rate  in  the  country  is  the  fact 
that  people  there  are  closer  to  a  pure  food  supply.  Country  people 
still  prepare  for  themselves  much  of  what  they  eat.  They  kill  their 
own  poultry,  pork,  and  veal  to  a  large  extent.  They  can  much  of  the 
fruit  and  vegetables  they  use  during  the  winter  besides  having  an 
abundance  of  fresh  vegetables  during  the  season.  Many  kinds  of 
fruits  and  vegetables  can  be  stored  so  that  they  are  available,  prac- 
tically fresh,  during  a  large  part  of  the  year.  It  may  seem  to  many 
that  our  present  system  of  distribution  makes  it  possible  for  the  city 
dweller  to  have  just  as  good  a  quality  of  fresh  food  as  the  farmer  and 
that,  therefore,  the  difference  in  kind  of  food  used  by  these  groups  is 
not  an  important  cause  of  difference  in  death  rates.  It  is  true  that 
it  is  possible  for  the  city  dweller  to  have  just  as  good  a  quality  of  food 
as  the  farmer,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  only  the  well-to-do  secure  the 
best  quality.  Fresh,  whblesome  food  in  sufficient  amount  is  bej^ond 
the  means  of  the  majority  of  city  dwellers.  If  one  doubts  this  let 
him  read  the  reports  of  cit}'^  health  commissioners  and  of  the  physicians 
emploj^ed  by  school  boards  to  make  examinations  of  the  children; 
or,  let  him  spend  a  few  hours  in  the  more  densely  populated  parts  of 
any  moderate-sized  or*large  city  and  watch  the  poor  buying  their  food. 

Another  phase  of  this  situation  in  the  city  is  that  those  who  have 
the  means  to  secure  an  abundance  of  the  best  food  ai;e  usually  those 
who  lead  more  or  less  sedentary  lives.  These  people,  as  a  rule,  do  not 
take  enough  exercise  to  use  up  their  food  and  get  rid  of  waste  matter. 
The  farmer,  on  the  other  hand,  may  eat  very  heartily  but  his  active 
life  renders  him  less  likely  to  suffer  from  over-eating.  The  writer  has 
often  been  impressed  with  the  fact  that  in  the  cities  one  sees  large 
numbers  of  soft  flabby  men  while  in  the  open  country  one  seldom  sees 
such  a  man,  the  farmers  being  generally  lean  and  hard. 

The  relative  security  of  the  farmer's  position  is  another  reason  for 
a  lower  death  rate  in  the  country.  He  is  not  harrassed  by  the  un- 
certainty of  his  job  and  income,  as  a  great  proportion  of  the  salaried 
and  wage-earning  classes  in  the  city.  He  does  not  need  to  fear  that 
some  machine  will  be  invented  to  take  his  job,  nor  that  he  will  be 
turned  off  in  hard  times  because  of  lack  of  work.  There  is  no  danger 
that  his  industry  will  move  away  from  him,  forcing  him  to  take  up 
some  new  work  or  spend  all  of  his  savings  in  moving  his  family  to  a 
new  home,  nor  do  strikes  and  lock-outs  affect  the  farmer  in  any  appre- 
ciable degree.  Furthermore,  the  farmer  does  not  have  to  compete 
with  an  ever  renewed  supply  of  immigrant  laborers  having  a  lower 


116  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

standard  of  living.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  farmer  does  not 
have  his  "hard  luck"  just  as  the  city  laborer  does,  but  that  is  not 
likely  to  force  him  into  such  dire  straits  as  it  does  the  latter.  If 
crops  are  a  failure  the  whole  neighborhood  feels  it,  but  no  farmer  is 
likely  to  lose  his  position  as  a  farmer  because  of  that.  He  receives  a 
temporary  set-back  but  he  is  in  little  danger  of  being  forced  to  rely 
on  public  charity  to  see  him  through.  As  a  result  of  this  greater 
security  of  life  the  farmer  should  be,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  is, 
less  subject  to  worry  than  the  city  man,  and  that  worry  affects  health 
is  unquestionable. 

Country  people  are  also  less  affected  by  accident  and  occupational 
diseases  than  city  people.  One  proof  of  this  is  found  in  the  fact  that 
it  is  the  practise  of  companies  selling  insurance  to  the  working  classes 
in  cities  to  charge  them  a  much  higher  premium  than  they  do  farmers 
and  those  in  other  occupations.  Of  a  total  of  1,222  fatal  industrial 
accidents  reported  to  the  Canadian  Department  of  Labor  during 
1918  only  36  or  2.9  per  cent  were  in  agriculture.  In  1917  the  per- 
centage was  3.2.  About  two-fifths  of  the  male  population  in  Canada 
is  engaged  in  agriculture.  If  further  proof  is  needed  that  accidents 
are  a  cause  of  higher  death  rates  in  the  city  than  in  the  country  it 
may  be  found  in  almost  every  volume  of  the  Monthly  Labor  Review. 
In  the  metal  mines  in  1916  there  were  3.62  fatal  accidents  per  1,000  of 
300-day  workers;  in  1917,  4.44;  while  there  were  250.64  accidents 
all  told  in  1916  per  1,000  of  300-day  workers;  and  240.97  in  1917. 
Coal  mining  is  even  more  deadly  (4.25  fatalities  per  1,000  of  300-day 
workers  in  1917)  while  train  service,  steel  work  and  quarrying  take 
from  2  to  4  per  1,000  of  300-day  workers  each  year 

The  fatal  accidents  in  industry,  however,  do  not  contribute  so 
largely  to  the  general  death  rate  of  city  workers  as  the  lesser  accidents 
whose  effects  are  not  directly  felt.  Even  with  compensation  from  the 
employer,  the  city  worker's  family  is  more  likely  to  become  destitute 
when  his  wages  cease  than  is  the  farmer's  when  he  suffers  injury. 
The  farmer  has  more  resources  to  fall  back  upon.  His  family  is  still 
an  economic  unit,  in  which  each  member,  from  a  very  early  age,  can 
contribute  something  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole,  while  in  the  city 
this  is  not  the  case.  In  a  pinch,  the  farmer  boy,  with  the  help  of  his 
mother  and  sisters,  can  keep  things  going  while  the  father  is  unable 
to  work.  And  if  the  farmer's  family  is  unable  to  get  along  without 
aid  the  neighbors  will  usually  see  them  through.  Friendly  aid  of  his 
neighbors  has  saved  many  a  farmer  from  the  worry  of  wondering  how 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  117 

he  was  going  to  care  for  his  family  during  the  ensuing  winter.  It  is 
almost  impossible  for  people  who  are  neighbors  in  the  modern  industrial 
community  to  render  one  another  sufficient  aid,  as  country  neighbors 
do,  even  if  they  were  disposed  to  do  so. 

Still  another  cause  of  the  lower  death  rate  in  the  country  is  what 
may  be  called  the  lower  tension  of  competition  in  the  rural  districts. 
This  manifests  itself  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Among  men  engaged  in 
brain  work  (executives  of  all  kinds  and  professional  men)  there  is  an 
intense  competition  for  preferment.  Most  of  these  men  are  animated 
by  the  desire  to  "make  good."  There  is,  generally,  a  position  just 
ahead  for  which  they  are  striving.  Usually  there  are  several  com- 
petitors for  each  job  so  that  a  man  must  be  continually  on  the  alert. 
There  is  no  place  where  he  can  stop  and  relax,  for  if  he  does  some  one 
will  step  ahead  of  him  and  get  the  coveted  prize.  Besides  most  men 
in  these  groups  have  a  real  struggle  to  make  their  incomes  cover  the 
standard  of  living  which  they  feel  is  essential  to  their  success. 

Among  laboring  men  there  is  a  somewhat  similar  process  going  on. 
There  is  the  never-ending  conflict  of  the  skilled  artisan  with  the 
machine  designed  to  do  his  work;  there  is  the  constant  change  in 
methods  and  processes  to  which  the  man  who  has  become  settled  in 
his  habits  finds  it  difficult  to  adjust  himself;  there  is  the  competition 
between  the  skilled  and  unskilled  worker  as  new  machines  are  invented ; 
there  is  the  competition  between  native  worker  and  the  immigrant  with 
alow  standard  of  living;  and,  finally,  there  is  the  competition  between 
men  and  women.  All  this  struggle  to  keep  one's  place  is  almost  un- 
known in  the  country.  The  farmer  may  become  old-fashioned  and 
work  with  inferior  stock  and  tools  but  yet  he  can  hold  on  and  make  a 
fair  living.  He  has  little  need  to  fear  some  younger  man  or  some 
immigrant  can  crowd  him  out  if  he  does  not  care  to  go.  And  yet  in 
many  farming  communities  there  is  enough  competition  to  keep  the 
farmer  truly  progressive. 

Another  way  in  which  the  keener  competition  in  the  city  manifests 
itself  is  in  the  attitude  of  women  towards  dress  and  home  equipment. 
The  continuous  incitement  to  dress  well  and  to  vie  with  one's  neighbors 
to  which  most  of  the  better  classes  of  city  women  are  subject  is  very 
largely  lacking  in  the  country.  In  the  city  the  success  of  the  husband 
and  the  social  position  of  the  family  are  judged  very  largely  by  the 
outward  show  its  members  make.  So  "good  dressing"  and  the  like 
are  indulged  in  not  merely  for  the  satisfaction  of  personal  vanity, 
but  also  because  they  are  the  assertion  of  the  right  to  and  the  means 


118  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

of  attaining  a  definite  social  position  in  the  community.  It  is  almost 
inevitable  that  this  should  be  so  where  neighbors  and  friends  only- 
know  one  another  superficiall5^ 

The  country  woman,  on  the  other  hand,  does  not  need  to  assert 
her  claims  to  a  social  position  for  the  family  by  means  of  dress  and 
other  externals.  Her  neighbors  know  whether  her  husband  owns  his 
farm  and  whether  he  lends  or  borrows  money.  She  cannot  impress 
her  neighbors  with  outward  show.  In  addition,  the  security  of  her 
position  and,  in  many  cases,  the  substantial  prosperity  of  the  family, 
render  her  more  or  less  indifferent  to  the  outward  show  of  things. 

In  view  of  these  differences  in  living  conditions  in  the  country 
and  the  city  the  writer  believes  that  the  former  is  more  favorable  to 
health  and  that  it  will  remain  so  for  a  prolonged  time  if  not  perma- 
nently.    The  eugenic  and  anthropological  value  of  this  is  self-evident. 

Reasons  Explaining  the  Larger  Average  Number  of  Children 
Born  to  Country  Women 

The  reasons  explaining  the  larger  average  number  of  children  born 
to  country  mothers  are  of  two  classes:  (1)  biological;  (2)  social  or 
psychological. 

biological  causes 

Herbert  Spencer  believed  that  as  civilization  increased  the  repro- 
ductive capacity  of  the  human  species  decreased.  If  this  were  true 
one  might  explain  the  whole  difference  between  the  city  and  the 
country,  as  regards  the  size  of  families,  by  saying  that  the  city  has  a 
higher  civilization  than  the  country  and  consequently  the  reproductive 
capacity  of  its  inhabitants  is  lower.  But  Spencer's  dictum  is  not 
yet  accepted  by  biologists.  No  definite  proof  has  yet  been  discovered 
that  the  inherent  reproductive  capacity  of  man  is  affected  adversely 
by  the  more  complicated  social  environment  of  the  city  as  compared 
with  the  country.  What  appears  to  the  writer  to  be  the  nearest 
approach  to  proof  of  Spencer's  position — the  fact  that  many  women 
cannot  conceive  although  physicians  can  discover  no  definite  cause 
of  this  inability — is  generally  explained,  by  the  physicians  themselves, 
as  due  to  the  fact  that  these  women  probably  use  all  their  vitality 
in  some  other  way.  It  is  supposed  that  excessive  fatigue  and  nervous 
debility  may  so  reduce  a  woman's  vitality  that  the  organs  of  reproduc- 
tion will  not  function  properly.  The  point  of  importance  here  is 
that  inability  to  reproduce  is  due  to  some  individual  pathological 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  119 

condition  and  not  to  any  decline  in  racial  capacity  as  Spencer  supposed. 
There  are  a  large  number  of  specific  reasons  why  reproduction  is 
impossible  to  some  people.  There  are  women  who  have  malformations 
of  the  genital  organs  that  render  conception  impossible.  Of  practically 
the  same  effect  as  malformations  are  accidents  and  pathological  condi- 
tions of  various  kinds  which  create  a  mechanical  or  chemical  obstruc- 
tion in  the  path  of  the  spermatozoon  so  that  it  cannot  reach  the  egg. 
In  men  temporary  impotency  may  result  from  certain  practices 
designed  to  prevent  conception.  If  such  practices  are  continued  too 
long  permanent  sterility  may  possibly  result.  There  is  much  dis- 
agreement among  experts  regarding  the  general  effects  of  birth  restric- 
tion upon  the  health  and  vitality  of  people  who  practice  it.  As  I 
read  both  sides  of  the  discussion  I  am  convinced  that  those  who 
believe  birth  control  leads  to  the  physical  deterioration  of  the  race 
are  thinking  primarily  of  the  use  of  abortifacients,'  while  those  who 
contend  that  birth  control  does  not  harm  the  health  of  those  who 
practice  it  are  thinking  of  the  use  pf  methods  which  prevent  concep- 
tion. So  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge  from  the  evidence  both  are  nearly 
right.  Abortion  and  the  use  of  crude  methods  of  preventing  concep- 
tion lead  to  dire  results  while  the  use  of  the  better  methods  of  pre- 
venting conception  probabty  have  few  or  no  harmful  effects. 

The  combined  effects  of  the  causes  enumerated  above  in  lowering 
the  birth  rate  are,  however,  less  than  those  of  venereal  diseases.  There 
is  much  difference  of  opinion  among  doctors  as  to  what  proportion  of 
sterile  marriages  are  sterile  because  one  or  both  parties  are  suffering 
from  venereal  disease.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  the 
effects  of  venereal  diseases  on  the  birth  rate  are  even  greater  than  their 
effects  in  causing  sterility.  This  is  the  case  because  sj^philis  does  not 
generally  render  conception  impossible  but  renders  it  unlikely  that  a 
healthy  or  normal  child  will  be  born,  while  gonorrhoea  spreads  to  the 
more  remote  genital  organs  of  the  woman,  rendering  her  sterile. 
Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow  states  that  "in  private  practice  the  mortality 
of  infants  born  of  syphilitic  mothers  is  from  60  to  65  per  cent.  In 
hospital  practice  it  is  elevated  to  84  or  86  per  cent."  Other  investi- 
gators give  even  higher  percentages.  Certain  it  is  that  a  syphilitic 
mother  has  very  little  chance  of  having  any  of  her  children  live, 
to  say  nothing  of  having  them  grow  into  normal  boys  and  girls. 
Syphilis  is  deadly  to  the  race;  and  gonorrhoea  is  scarcely  less  so 
because  it  produces  such  a  high  percentage  of  sterility.  About  one 
marriage  in  every  eight  is  sterile  and  many  physicians  believe  that 


120  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

most  of  these  are  due  to  gonorrhoea.  Even  those  who  estimate  the 
percentage  conservatively,  believe  that  40  to  50  per  cent  of  these 
sterile  marriages  are  caused  by  gonorrhoeal  infection.  Dr.  Morrow 
says:  "Abstraction  made  of  every  other  possible  factor  of  sterility 
and  minimizing  gonorrhoea  as  a  predisposing  agent  to  the  lowest 
possible  degree,  yet  there  must  remain  a  vast  contingent  of  stefile 
marriages  which  are  caused  directly  and  solely  by  gonorrhoeal  infec- 
tion." 

Thus  it  is  not  unlikely  that  about  five  or  six  marriages  in  every 
hundred  are  sterile  as  a  result  of  venereal  diseases,  and  several  more 
in  each  hundred  may  produce  only  a  single  child  before  sterility  sets 
in  or  abortion  and  stillbirths  ensue  and  thus  reduce  the  birth  rate. 

The  question  now  arises  as  to  the  relative  importance  of  these 
different  biological  causes  in  the  rural  districts  and  in  the  city.  Un- 
fortunately we  have  no  definite  data  on  this  subject.  In  regard  to 
malformations  of  and  accidents  to  the  genital  organs  resulting  in 
sterility  there  would  seem  to  be  little  difference  between  the  country 
and  the  city.  But  the  writer  believes  that  all  the  other  causes  listed 
above  operate  more  strongly  to  reduce  the  birth  rate  in  the  city  than 
in  the  country.  General  nervous  debility  is  more  often  a  result  of 
the  tense  urban  life  than  of  the  slower  and  more  placid  rural  life. 
Practices  designed  to  prevent  conception  are  far  more  widespread  in 
the  city  than  in  the  country.  Lastly,  but  of  greatest  importance, 
venereal  diseases  are  more  common  in  the  city  than  in  the  country. 
Just  how  much  more  common  we  may  be  able  to  tell  when  the  complete 
reports  of  the  Provost  Marshal  General  for  the  period  of  the  war  are 
issued.  In  an  indirect  way  the  data  on  sterility  of  women  collected 
by  the  Immigration  Commission  confirm  this  opinion.  The  percen- 
tage of  women,  married  10-19  years,  bearing  no  children,  was  found 
to  be  about  three  times  as  great  in  the  cities  as  in  the  rural  districts. 
This  was  true  of  women  of  foreign  parentage  as  well  as  of  women  of 
native  parentage.  If  complete  sterility  of  married  women  is  generally 
involuntary,  as  many  physicians  believe  to  be  the  case,  we  are  certainly 
justified  in  concluding  that  these  biological  causes  are  much  more 
important  factors  in  reducing  the  birth  rate  in  the  city  than  they  are 
in  the  country. 

SOCIAL    OR   PSYCHOLOGICAL    CAUSES 

When  all  due  allowance  is  made  for  the  fact  that  the  death  rate  is 
higher  in  the  city  than  in  the  country,  and  also  for  the  fact  that 
biological  causes  operate  more  strongly  to  reduce  the  birth  rate  in  the 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  121 

cit}^  than  in  the  country,  we  must  seek  still  farther  to  find  the  most 
important  causes  of  the  larger  proportion  of  children  in  the  rural 
districts.  In  the  writer's  judgment  the  social  forces  operating  in  a 
community  are  the  most  important  causes  determining  the  birth  rate. 
They  are  the  forces  moulding  and  shaping  the  attitude  of  mind. 
They  determine  the  aims  and  purposes  of  the  men  and  women  of  the 
community. 

In  order  to  understand  these  forces  which  underlie  the  attitude  of 
people  towards  the  rearing  of  children,  it  will  be  necessary  to  divide 
the  population  into  several  classes.  I  have  divided  the  city  population 
into  four  classes  on  the  basis  of  family  incomes  because  I  believe  that 
the  different  social  conditions  for  these  four  classes  lead  to  different 
attitudes  towards  bearing  and  rearing  children.  Consequently^  the 
extent  of  voluntary  control  of  the  size  of  the  family  varies  in  these 
different  classes.  These  four  classes  are:  (1)  The  poor,  those  having 
an  income  of  less  than  $1,000  to  $1,200  a  year.  The  class  is  composed 
chiefly  of  unskilled  workers ;  (2)  The  comfortable,  those  having  an 
income  of  from  $1,200  to  $2,200.  Most  skilled  workers  belong  to  this 
class,  also  many  people  engaged  in  mercantile  and  commercial  pursuits; 
(3)  The  well-to-do,  those  having  incomes  ranging  from  $2,200  to 
$6,000  or  $7,000.  Most  professional  men  and  men  in  executive  posi- 
tions in  industry  and  commerce  belong  to  this  class;  (4)  The  wealth^', 
those  with  incomes  of  $7,000  or  over.  Capitalists  and  those  on  the 
road  to  become  capitalists  belong  to  this  class.  (These  income  limits 
are  purely  arbitrary  and  not  too  much  importance  should  be  attached 
to  them.  Obviously,  many  people  belong  to  more  than  one  class 
during  their  lives.)  The  rural  population  will  be  treated  as  a  single 
separate  class. 

THE    INFLUENCE    OF    RELIGION    ON    POPULATION    GROWTH 

Before  proceeding  to  a  study  of  the  forces  operative  in  these  dif- 
ferent economic  classes  it  will  be  well  to  inquire  briefly  into  the  in- 
fluence of  religion  upon  the  birth  rate,  inasmuch  as  religion  knows  no 
class  lines.  Protestantism  has  concerned  itself  but  little  with  this 
matter  and  its  influence  is  practically  negligible.  Protestant  churches 
may  not  sanction  birth  control  but  the  subject  is  rarely  discussed 
by  their  minister^  either  in  public  or  in  private  and  the  opinions  of  the 
ministers,  if  expressed,  would  have  but  little  influence.  The  over- 
whelming majority  of  Protestant  people  consider  such  matters  as 
their  private  affairs  and  would  brook  no  meddling  by  the  clergy.     In 


122  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

the  Roman  Catholic  church,  on  the  other  hand,  if  one  can  put  credence 
in  common  reports,  the  priests  frequently  exhort  their  parishioners 
(chiefly  in  private)  to  use  no  means  to  restrict  the  size  of  their  families. 
How  closely  this  advice  is  followed  it  is  impossible  to  tell.  Even  a 
comparison  between  the  size  of  families  of  Catholics  and  Protestants 
would  not  enable  us  to  draw  any  definite  conclusions.  It  is  altogether 
likely  that  Catholics,  as  a  group,  have  larger  families  than  Protestants 
but  it  does  not  follow  that  their  religion  is  the  cause.  A  large  propor- 
tion of  the  Catholics  in  America  belong  to  the  poorer  classes  (recent 
immigrants)  and  this  rather  than  their  religion  may  be  the  cause  of 
large  families.  After  some  years  of  observation  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  as  Catholics  pass  into  the  upper  classes  the  size  of  their 
families  is  determined  by  the  same  social  forces  as  are  operative  among 
other  members  of  these  classes  and  that  well-to-do  Catholics  do  not 
have  larger  families  than  the  well-to-do  among  the  Protestants.  The 
Jews,  like  the  Catholics,  are  generally  supposed  to  be  greatly  influenced 
by  their  religion  to  raise  large  families.  Again  my  observation  leads 
me  to  believe  that  it  is  the  economic  and  social  status  of  the  individual 
Jew  rather  than  any  general  religious  attitude  that  determines  the 
size  of  the  family.  In  my  judgment,  therefore,  in  the  United  States 
religion  is  not  a  very  important  factor  in  determining  the  birth  rate. 
It  serves  only  to  assure  some  of  those  who  would  have  large  families 
anyway  that  they  are  doing  what  is  pleasing  to  the  Lord. 

THE    POOR    CLASS 

In  the  first  class  there  is  but  little  voluntary  limitation  of  the  size 
of  the  family.  The  two  most  important  reasons  why  this  is  the  case, 
are:  (1)  The  people  in  this  class  do  not  know  how  to  limit  their 
families,  (2)  they  do  not  care  a  great  deal  about  limiting  them,  because 
they  do  not  feel  the  burden  of  a  fairly  large  family  as  keenly  as  people 
in  the  higher  classes. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  poor  would  practice  voluntary 
limitation  of  families  much  more  than  they  do  if  they  knew  how. 
But  as  yet  the  laws  forbidding  the  dissemination  of  such  knowledge 
are  quite  successfully  enforced  against  the  poor.  (In  my  judgment 
this  is  the  only  class  of  the  population  which  the  laws  prevent  from 
securing  this  knowledge  and  they  bid  fair  to  become  ineffective  even 
against  them  in  a  short  time.)  They  have  only  been  effective  this 
long  because  this  class  depends  largely  upon  free  agencies  for  such 
medical  attention  and  nursing  as  it  secures,  and  because  the  members 


RACE    SUICIDE    IX    THE    UNITED    STATES  123 

have  no  personal  friends  among  doctors,  nurses  and  others,  who  might 
tell  them  how  to  limit  their  families. 

I  believe,  however,  that  even  if  the  poor  knew  how  to  limit  their 
families  as  generally  as  members  of  other  classes,  they  would  not  put 
their  knowledge  into  practice  to  the  same  extent.  It  is  the  customary 
thing  among  the  poor  to  look  forward  to  the  economic  aid  of  the  child 
as  soon  as  he  or  she  can  be  put  to  work.  In  the  sweating  industries 
mere  babies  often  add  their  pittance  to  the  family  income  by  "helping 
mother"  with  her  work.  Even  where  child-labor  laws  and  school  laws 
are  well  enforced,  the  parents  can  count  on  the  aid  of  the  children  as 
soon  as  they  are  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  old.  Not  only  does  the  child 
of  poor  parents  cease  to  be  a  direct  burden  upon  the  parents  very 
early,  but  there  are  usually  several  years  in  which  it  contributes  more 
than  its  "keep"  to  the  family  income.  Thus  a  family  of  four  or  five 
children  may  render  the  parents  substantial  aid  for  ten  or  fifteen  years 
or  even  longer.  The  parents  very  generally  expect  to  get  back  the 
cost  of  the  child  before  it  strikes  out  for  itself  and  the}^  usually  succeed. 
It  may  seem  to  many  people  that  this  attitude  towards  children  is 
exceptional  and  is  not  a  very  important  factor  making  for  large  families. 
I  feel  certain,  however,  that  this  attitude  towards  children  is  very 
general  among  poor  people.  The  parents  themselves  were  brought 
up  to  expect  to  go  to  work  as  soon  as  they  were  able  and  they  expect 
the  same  of  their  children.  The  experience  of  those  who  have  to  do 
with  the  enforcement  of  child-labor  laws  shows  that  people  in  the 
poorer  classes  want  their  children  to  leave  school  and  go  to  work  at  a 
very  early  age  and  that  the  children  are  quite  willing  to  do  so.  This  is 
the  usual  attitude  of  poor  people  the  world  over.  Hard  conditions  of 
life  and  simple  forms  of  work  make  it  necessary  and  possible  for 
children  while  yet  very  young  to  help  their  parents  and  it  is  customary 
for  them  to  do  so.  Old-world  ideas  brought  over  by  the  immigrants 
also  work  in  the  same  direction.  The  peasant  economy  of  Europe 
has  a  place  for  the  labor  of  the  child  and  only  too  often  the  immigrants 
see  no  reason  why  the  child  should  not  go  to  work  as  young  in  this 
country  as  he  would  in  the  old  country. 

Many  times  the  child  begins  to  assist  the  parents  at  their  work 
long  before  it  is  permitted  to  work  regularly.  It  can  do  this  quite 
easily,  because  both  men  and  women  do  unskilled  work.  When' the 
time  comes  that  the  child  can  leave  school,  it  finds  comparatively  little 
difficulty  in  getting  the  same  kind  of  a  job  as  father  or  mother  or  a 
similar  one.     Children  whose  mothers  work  at  home  in  the  sweated 


124  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

trades  can  acquire  all  of  the  skill  needed  to  do  an}'^  of  the  work  by  the 
time  they  can  leave  school.  When  the  boys  are  too  big  to  work  at 
the  sweated  trades  they  are  able  to  go  to  the  wharves  with  their 
fathers  or  do  rough  labor  on  construction  work  or  any  other  of  a 
thousand  jobs  which  require  no  special  preparation. 

I  would  not  imply  that  boys  and  girls  in  this  class  always  do  the 
same  kind  of  work  as  their  parents,  but  I  do  believe  that  the  great 
majority  of  them  do  work  of  the  same  general  nature.  I  should  say 
that  the  boy  whose  father  is  a  longshoreman  and  who  himself  becomes 
a  deliveryman  is  staying  in  the  same  general  class  as  his  father. 
Similarly  the  boy  who  does  the  unskilled  labor  in  a  new  subway  is 
following  in  the  steps  of  his  father  who  is  the  janitor  of  a  tenement. 
We  are  too  apt  to  forget  that  only  a  small  proportion  of  children  can 
ever  rise  from  the  general  class  into  which  they  are  born. 

I  have  many  times  been  amazed  at  the  utter  lack  of  ambition 
among  the  children  of  unskilled  laborers.  But  when  one  canvasses 
the  situation  carefully,  one  finds  nothing  in  this  attitude  of  children 
to  cause  surprise.  They  have  been  brought  up  to  expect  to  go  to 
work  at  an  early  age,  their  parents  never  tried  to  instil  into  them 
the  desire  to  better  their  lot.  They  have  attended  schools  where  no 
mention  was  ever  made  of  occupations  open  to  them,  or  if  occupations 
of  different  kinds  were  brought  to  their  attention,  no  efforts  were 
made  to  inspire  in  them  a  desire  to  get  into  better  occupations  than 
those  of  their  parents,  and  they  have  not  been  prepared  to  enter  such 
occupations  if  the  desire  for  them  was  implanted.  In  a  word,  every- 
thing in  the  life  of  the  child  of  the  poorer  classes  tends  to  press  it  into 
the  mode  of  life  of  its  parents  while  almost  nothing  urges  it  to  a  different 
mode  of  life. 

There  are  forces  at  work  now,  however,  which  seem  to  me  to  be 
bringing  about  a  change  in  the  attitude  of  parents  in  this  class  towards 
their  children,  and  also  to  be  breaking  down  the  passive  acceptance 
by  children  of  the  role  chosen  for  them  by  their  parents.  More 
stringent  child  labor  laws,  better  enforced,  are  making  the  children 
dependent  upon  their  parents  for  a  longer  time  and  thus  rendering  it 
less  economically  advantageous  for  them  to  have  relatively  large 
families.  Going  hand  in  hand  with  the  movement  to  prevent  too 
early  work  among  children  is  the  movement  for  vocational  guidance 
and  occupational  training.  In  so  far  as  these  movements  arouse 
ambition  in  the  children  of  the  poorer  classes  and  supply  the  training 
to  help  them  realize  their  ambitions,  we  may  expect  to  see  them 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  125 

become  less  and  less  an  economic  asset  to  their  families.  As  this 
takes  place,  there  is  not  the  least  doubt  but  that  the  birth  rate  will  fall. 

It  may  well  be  that  the  effects  of  these  movements  on  the  birth 
rate  in  this  class  will  not  be  very  marked  in  this  generation,  but  they 
will  be  in  the  next.  Those  who  have  themselves  risen  from  the  poor 
class  will  want  to  maintain  their, new  standards  and  give  their  children 
at  least  as  good  a  start  as  they  themselves  had,  and  those  who  wanted 
to  rise,  but  were  unable,  will  hope  that  by  having  only  a  fair-sized 
family  they  can  give  their  children  such  advantages  that  they  can 
rise.  Thus  the  effects  of  better  education  and  a  longer  period  of 
childhood  and  preparation  are  certain  to  bring  about  a  reduction  of 
the  birth  rate. 

It  is  not  likely,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  that  the  poorer  classes  will  ever 
have  as  low  a  birth  rate  as  the  other  classes.  There  will  always  be 
those  who  must  do  the  unskilled  work,  of  the  community  and  their 
^  children  will,  for  the  most  part,  take  their  places  with  the  minimum 
of  preparation  allowed  by  law.  Under  such  conditions  the  children 
of  this  class  will  naturally  cease  to  be  an  expense  to  the  family  sooner 
than  the  children  of  the  higher  classes,  and  they  will  be  able  to  add 
something  to  the  family  income  for  several  years  before  striking  out 
for  themselves.  Thus  in  spite  of  greatly  improved  conditions  children 
will  always  be  more  valuable  economically  to  the  poorer  classes  in  the 
city  than  to  the  other  classes. 

Another  reason  why  I  do  not  believe  that  the  birth  rate  of  the  poor 
class  will  ever  fall  as  low  as  that  of  the  higher  classes  is  that  the  poor 
class  will  always  contain  a  greater  proportion  of  improvident  ne'er-do- 
wells  than  the  other  classes.  People  who  never  look  to  the  future, 
who  make  no  plans  for  their  own  lives,  who  care  little  what  becomes 
of  their  children,  will  always  have  large  families.  No  matter  how 
widely  the  knowledge  of  birth  control  may  be  disseminated  people 
who  are  shiftless,  improvident  and  perhaps  sub-normal  will  never 
restrict  the  size  of  their  families  to  any  appreciable  degree. 

In  this  class  marriages  take  place  at  an  earlier  age  than  in  the  other 
classes.  The  unskilled  laborer  roaches  the  age  of  full  earning  power  by 
the  time  he  is  twenty  years  old  and  will  draw  his  highest  wages  between 
that  time  and  the  age  of  forty-five.  This  means  that  he  can  reason- 
ably expect  to  care  for  a  family  at  a  nuich  earlier  ago  than  the  men  of 
most  other  classes.  The  woman  of  this  class,  therefore,  marries 
relatively  early  and  has  more  years  in  which  to  bear  children  than  the 
woman  of  any  other  class  in  tho  city  population.     Divorce,  too,  is  less 


126  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

frequent  in  this  class  than  in  the  others.     This  adds  to  the  average 
length  of  the  child-bearing  period  of  the  woman  of  the  poor  class. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  all  these  things  tend  to  keep  the  birth 
rate  of  this  class  high  its  rate  of  natural  increase  is  not  so  high  as 
might  be  supposed  for  its  death  rate  is  high,  as  has  been  shown  above. 

THE    COMFORTABLE    CLASS 

In  the  second  class,  voluntary  limitation  of  the  family  is  widely 
practiced,  though  it  is  by  no  means  universal.  There  are  many 
people  in  this  class  who  look  upon  their  children  in  much  the  same 
way  as  those  in  the  first  class.  In  so  far  as  this  is  the  case,  there  is 
no  need  to  dwell  upon  the  motives  at  work.  But  there  are  also  many 
influenced  by  motives  that  lead  to  the  desire  for  a  small  family. 

The  skilled  laborer  who  believes  in  the  restriction  of  output  and  in 
the  limitation  of  union  membership  can  readily  see  the  advantages  in 
limiting  the  size  of  his  family.  If  it  is  a  good  thing,  from  his  stand- 
point, to  control  the  amount  of  labor  available  for  doing  certain  kinds 
of  work  then  it  is  a  good  thing  not  to  raise  more  children  than  he  can 
find  places  for  in  his  own  trade  or  other  trades  of  the  same  grade.  A 
great  many  skilled  mechanics  have  small  families  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  they  believe  this  the  most  effective  method  of  restricting 
the  amount  of  labor  and  therefore  of  raising  wages. 

Many  other  people  in  this  class  raise  small  families  because  they 
hope  to  be  able,  thereby,  to  give  their  children  better  opportunities 
to  rise  into  the  higher  classes.  Many  and  many  a  family  can  be 
found  among  skilled  laborers  and  clerical  workers  putting  forth  its 
utmost  efforts  to  give  at  least  one  of  the  children  a  better  start  than 
its  father  had.  In  such  cases,  the  child  instead  of  becoming  an 
economic  asset  at  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age  becomes  an  increas- 
ingly heavy  economic  burden  in  the  years  after  he  leaves  the  common 
school.  Not  only  is  the  child  a  charge  for  a  much  longer  period,  but 
in  the  degree  that  the  parents  are  successful  in  launching  him  upon 
his  career  in  a  higher  class,  they  must  expect  to  forego  any  return  on 
their  investment,  for  it  takes  so  long  to  attain  even  a  moderate  degree 
of  financial  success  in  these  higher  classes  that  parents  seldom  live 
to  see  their  children  achieve  it. 

Of  equal  effect  with  ambition  for  one's  children  in  causing  restriction 
of  the  size  of  the  family  is  ambition  for  oneself.  There  are  many  men 
in  this  class  who  feel  that  children  would  be  a  hindrance  to  them  in 
attaining  a  higher  position.     There  are  also  many  women  who  have 


KACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  127 

social  ambitions  or  who  desire  to  continue  their  work  outside  the  home 
after  marriage.  In  either  case  children  are  not  wanted  and  voluntary 
limitation  of  t|ie  family  is  practiced.  Since,  however,  personal  ambi- 
tion, incompatible  with  the  raising  of  a  fair-sized  family,  is  much  more 
common  in  the  third  class  than  in  this,  I  shall  not  discuss  it  further  here. 

The  lack  of  training  for  women  in  homemaking,  which  is  so  prevalent 
among  all  classes  of  city  women,  perhaps,  shows  its  effects  most 
markedly  in  this  class.  The  girls  usually  leave  school  after  they  have 
finished  the  grades  or  early  in  their  high-school  course  and  work  for 
several  years  in  factories,  stores  or  offices  before  they  are  married. 
The  work  they  do  is  very  largely  unskilled  and  requires  little  thought 
or  close  attention.  In  many  factories  they  repeat  a  single  simple 
process  over  again  and  again  until  it  becomes  purely  mechanical. 
In  the  stores  onh^  a  few  ever  learn  more  than  the  simple  mechanical 
parts  of  salesmanship.  Even  in  offices  as  stenographers  and  filing 
clerks,  their  work  is  but  little  less  mechanical  than  in  factories  and 
stores.  In  any  event  the  work  of  the  girl  who  expects  only  to  work 
until  she  gets  married  very  seldom  offers  much  opportunity  for  her  to 
develop  responsibility,  self-reliance  or  foresight.  Instead  of  pre- 
paring girls  for  homemakers,  such  work  as  they  do  induces  careless 
habits  and  an  indifferent  attitude  towards  work  of  all  kinds  which  is 
demoralizing  in  the  extreme.  These  girls  never  learn  to  regard  work 
as  the  normal  and  proper  condition  of  life.  They  do  not  know  what 
it  means  to  find  work  interesting  and  to  put  the  best  of  themselves 
into  it.  They  rather  come  to  regard  work  as  a  necessary  evil  to  be 
endured  for  a  given  length  of  time  daily  either  because  they  must  work 
to  live  or  because  they  need  the  money  to  have  a  good  time  outside 
of  working  hours. 

The  girls  are  not  primarily  to  blame  that  they  so  regard  their  work. 
The  organization  of  our  industrial  system  is  such  that  most  girls 
never  get  a  chance  to  do  work  that  is  interesting  to  them  nor  do  they 
ever  have  their  attention  called  to  the  opportunities  for  self-expression 
in  their  work.  It  is  not  the  least  surprising,  therefore,  that  these  girls 
have  never  developed  the  qualities  which  make  a  successful  and  happy 
wife  and  mother.  Such  qualities  as  patience,  economy,  foresight, 
good  taste  and  adaptability — essentials  to  a  happy  life  under  all 
conditions — are  not  to  be  acquired  with  the  taking  of  the  marriage 
vows;  they  must  be  developed  slowly  through  the  years.  In  my 
judgment  the  work  of  theso  girls  not  only  does  little  to  help  thorn 
develop  such  qualities,  but  often  actually  aids  in  developing  other 


128  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

traits  of  character  which  unfit  them  for  home  life,  e.g.,  carelessness, 
shirking,  selfishness,  irresponsibility  and  vulgarity.  The  woman  who 
looks  upon  her  daily  life  in  the  home  as  she  looked  upon  her  day's 
work  in  the  factory  or  store  before  she  was  married  is  quite  certain  to 
find  little  there  which  will  compensate  her  for  I'aising  a  family.  When 
this  attitude  towards  the  home  exists,  when  all  the  good  things  of  life 
are  thought  to  lie  outside  of  the  daily  routine  of  home  life,  family 
limitation  will  be  practiced  if  the  woman  knows  how. 

Although  the  birth  rate  in  this  class  is  considerably  lower  than  in  the 
first  class  I  believe  that  the  rate  of  natural  increase  is  not  much 
different,  for  the  death  rate  is  also  lower.  But  it  may  well  be  that  in 
recent  years  with  the  improvement  of^the  public  health  agencies 
administering  to  the  poor  the  rate  of  natural  increase  of  the  poor  has 
come  to  exceed  that  of  this  class  Unfortunately  we  have  no  very 
conclusive  evidence  on  this  point. 

THE    WELL-TO-DO    CLASS 

In  the  third  class  voluntary  restriction  of  the  size  of  the  family  is 
almost  universal.  In  addition,  late  marriages  and  celibacy  contribute 
to  a  very  low  birth  rate.  The  motives  leading  to  late  marriage  and 
celibacy  do  not  need  much  special  attention  because  they  are  the 
same,  in  general,  as  those  leading  to  the  rearing  of  small  families 
among  those  who  are  married.  It  may  be  that  the  ease  and  comfort 
in  which  both  bachelor  men  and  women  can  live  in  the  cities  are 
motives  which  of  themselves  lead  many  to  forego  marriage,  but  I 
believe  that  ambition  in  various  forms  is  the  most  potent  motive 
leading  to  celibacy,  as  it  is  to  family  restriction. 

Most  professional  and  managerial  positions  offer  abundant  oppor- 
tunities for  advancement  to  capable,  wide-awake,  energetic,  men  and 
women.  Honor  and  wealth  are  the  rewards  of  diligence  in  these 
positions.  The  ambitious  young  man  who  goes  into  business  hopes 
soon  to  leave  the  well-to-do  class  and  join  the  wealthy  as  do  many 
who  go  into  the  professions.  There  are  many  others  in  the  professions 
who  do  not  care  to  leave  this  class,  but  rather  who  are  ambitious  to 
gain  recognition  through  scholarly  or  artistic  work,  which  is  more 
dear  to  them  than  wealth.  In  either  case — in  seeking  honor  or  wealth, 
or  both — personal  ambition  is  the  dominating  motive  in  life  and  has  a 
great  deal  of  influence  upon  the  size  of  the  family  raised. 

The  young  man  in  business  who  sees  vistas  ahead  in  which  he  may 
exert  power  through  wealth  has  little  time  or  inclination  to  give  himself 


RACE    SUICIDE    IX    THE    UNITED    STATES  129 

to  his  family.  He  may  be  quite  willing  to  meet  the  expenses  of  a 
relatively  large  family;  but  he  is  so  immersed  in  his  work  that  he  is 
likely  to  forget  to  be  human.  He  probably  expects  his  wife  to  shoulder 
the  entire  burden  of  worry  and  care  at  home,  so  that  he  will  not  be 
distracted  from  his  work.  The  wife  soon  becomes  weary  of  bearing 
her  burden  alone  and  is  ready  to  take  measures  to  prevent  it  from 
becoming  greater.  So  it  is  that  the  ambition  of  the  father  lies  at  the 
basis  of  family  restriction  in  many  cases. 

Again  the  father  may  feel  that  he  needs  all  the  money  he  can  pos- 
sibly save  to  further  his  business  plans  and  so  takes  means  to  prevent 
the  coming  of  children.  He.  often  feels  also  that  he  will  be  hampered 
in  his  freedom  of  movement  by  even  a  fair-sized  famil3^  Then  there 
is  always  the  element  of  chance  in  business,  and  a  man  may  not  be 
willing  to  give  hostages  to  fortune  until  he  can  be  reasonably  sure  that 
he  can  redeem  them.  In  the  professions  the  situation  is  much  the  same, 
with  the  exception  that  the  goal  is  more  often  recognition  of  some 
kind  than  mere  wealth.  Better  than  wealth  to  a  lawyer  may  be  the 
appointment  to  the  Supreme  Bench,  better  than  wealth  to  a  physician 
may  be  the  discovery  of  some  new  means  of  aiding  mankind,  better 
than  wealth  to  the  engineer  may  be  the  successful  completion  of  some 
public  work,  e.g.,  a  Panama  Canal,  better  than  wealth  to  the  scholar 
may  be  the  writing  of  an  essay  which  will  inspire  good  thoughts  and 
noble  ambitions  in  his  fellows.  But  the  way  to  success  in  the  pro- 
fessions is  slow  and  laborious,  and  even  a  moderate-sized  family 
may  make  the  ascent  much  slower  and  more  difficult. 

There  are  also  numerous  cases  in  this  class  in  which  the  man  marries 
so  that  he  may  increase  his  acquaintance  among  men  who  may  be  of 
help  to  him  through  the  social  activities  of  his  wife.  Many  such 
marriages  are  childless,  while  many  more  have  only  a  single  child. 

It  is  quite  likely,  however,  that  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  women 
who  spend  much  of  their  time  and  energy  in  social  life  do  so  with 
the  object  of  furthering  their  husbands'  interests;  most  of  them  have 
social  ambitions  of  their  own.  The  care  and  expense  of  even  a  single 
child  will  seriously  curtail  the  social  activities  of  a  woman  of  this 
class  and  so,  many  t^mes,  children  are  sacrificed  to  social  ambitions. 
Children  tie  a  woman  to  the  home  rather  closely  for  a  good  many 
years  if  she  gives  them  a  true  mother's  care.  They  are  also  expensive. 
No  doubt  the  woman  in  this  class  very  often  has  to  make  a  choice 
between  another  child  and  some  cherished  object  which  will  further 
her  social  ambitions.     An  automobile,  a  new  home,  new  furniture  or 


130  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

more  expensive  clothes  will  each  and  all  enhance  one's  social  position 
and  keep  one  before  the  attention  of  one's  friends,  while  another  child 
will  withdraw  one  from  their  attention  for  a  considerable  time  and 
make  it  more  difficult  to  appear  so  well  in  their  eyes.  "Only  too  often 
the  temptation  of  the  easy  and  immediately  pleasant  way  out  over- 
comes them  and  they  shirk  the  real  duty  of  a  woman. 

Like  the  mistrained  or  untrained  of  the  lower  classes,  women  of 
this  class  who  "go  in  for"  social  life  see  no  satisfaction  to  be  derived 
from  the  daily  routine  of  the  home.  The  dearest  objects  in  life  lie 
elsewhere.  Nowhere  among  their  friends  and  acquaintances  do  they 
encounter  any  disapprobation  of  the  frivolous,  meaningless  lives  they 
are  leading,  for  they  are  all  of  a  feather.  If  it  is  to  women  of  this 
type  that  the  charge  of  parasitism,  so  often  heard  now-a-days,  refers, 
it  is  very  largely  justified. 

Again  there  are  many  women  in  this  class  who  want  a  "career." 
They  want  to  be  independent  economically  and  socially.  Some  of 
these  women  do  not  marry,  but  more  of  them  do  marry,  although 
relatively  late.  Of  those  who  do  marry,  many  regard  their  work 
essential  to  the  highest  self-respect  and  self-development  and  therefore 
find  no  place  in  their  lives  for  the  bearing  and  raising  of  children. 
Happily  there  is  a  reaction,  in  late  years,  from  the  extreme  type  of 
feminism  prevalent  about  a  generation  ago,  which  taught  that  for  a 
woman  to  be  dependent  on  a  man  for  support  was  disgraceful  and 
not  to  be  tolerated  by  any  woman  of  strong  character. 

But  by  no  means  are  all  the  women  of  this  class  of  the  type  that 
would  prefer  not  to  have  children.  The  majority,  without  doubt, 
are  women  who  find  a  satisfying  existence  in  simple  home  life.  But 
even  such  women  do  not  desire  large  families,  for  they  find  the  raising 
of  children  in  the  city  a  task  of  ever-increasing  difficulty.  The  results 
of  a  recent  investigation  will  show  the  correctness  of  these  statements. 
The  Delineator  for  October,  1919,  published  the  results  of  a  question- 
naire sent  to  the  graduating  classes  of  a  number  of  women's  colleges. 
To  the  question:  If  you  follow  a  professional  or  business  career, 
would  you  attempt  marriage  and  motherhood  in  addition,  if  you 
met  the  right  man?  235  replied,  yes,  302  replied,  no,  and  26  said 
they  would  attempt  marriage  but  not  motherhood.  To  the  question : 
Provided  you  could  not  have  both  marriage  and  a  business  or  pro- 
fessional career,  which  would  you  sacrifice?  522  replied  they  would 
sacrifice  a  career,  51  that  they  would  sacrifice  marriage  and  22  were 
undecided.     To  the  question:    How  many  children  do  you  want? 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  131 

the  replies  were:  None— 10;  One— 4;  Two— 76;  Three — 163;  Four 
— 179;  Five — 55;   More  than  five — 63. 

As  I  have  watched  the  child  life  of  the  cities,  especially  among  this 
class  of  people,  I  have  often  wondered  that  they  tried  to  raise  children 
at  all.  Children  are  not  wanted  in  most  apartment  houses  in  desirable 
sections  of  the  city,  nor  will  single  houses  be  rented  to  families  with 
children  if  those  without  can  be  secured.  Open  places  for  play,  close 
at  hand,  are  generally  lacking,  while  a  private  yard  where  one's 
children  hold  undisputed  sway  is  almost  unknown.  Thus  the  naturally 
venturesome  spirit  of  youth  has  no  place  in  which  to  express  itself  in 
ways  useful  to  the  child  and  not  troublesome  to  others.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  opportunities  to  get  into  mischief  seem  to  be  unlimited. 

Our  cities  today  seem  to  be  organized  for  the  repression  of  the 
natural  life  of  the  child  rather  than  to  encourage  its  normal  expression. 
Don't!  Don't!  You  must  not!  Get  out  of  the  way!  What  are  you 
doing  here?  are  apparent  everywhere,  while.  Come  on!  Take  part! 
Enjoy  yourself!  Here  is  a  place  for  you!  are  scarcely  visible  anywhere. 
Because  of  these  conditions  it  is  not  unlikely  that,  in  this  class  where 
standards  of  living  are  high  and  income  not  sufficient  to  permit  of 
much  help  in  the  home,  one  child  causes  more  work  and  worry  than 
several  in  the  lower  classes. 

But  aside  from  the  care  and  expense  of  raising  children  while  they 
are  comparatively  young,  parents  in  this  class  generally  have  to 
provide  for  their  children  for  a  much  longer  period  than  those  in  the 
lower  classes.  At  the  age  the  child  of  the  poorer  classes  begins  to  be 
self-supporting  the  child  in  this  class  begins  to  make  greater  demands 
upon  the  economic  resources  of  its  parents.  Prevision  and  foresight 
are  well  developed  in  these  people  and  consequently  the}^  make 
definite  plans,  so  that  their  resources  will  meet  their  own  needs  and 
provide  a  good  start  in  life  for  their  children.  Expenses  during  high 
school,  college,  technical  school  and  possibl}'  even  for  a  year  or  two 
while  getting  a  foothold  in  some  profession,  generally  strain  the  family 
resources  to  the  limit  when  the  family  is  small.  Therefore  a  large 
family  is  not  desired. 

The  desire  for  travel  is  another  motive  often  leading  to  the  restric- 
tion of  the  size  of  the  family  in  this  class.  It  needs  no  argument  to 
show  that  children  make  travel  more  difficult  both  from  the  standpoint 
of  expense  and  from  that  of  leisure.  Each  child  born  increases  the 
normal  expenses  of  the  family  and  makes  it  more  difficult  for  the 
parents  to  take  their  children  with  them  or  to  leave  them  behind 


132  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

when  they  travel.  Thus  with  the  growth  of  the  family  the  likelihood 
of  being  able  to  travel  decreases.  Therefore,  where  there  is  a  strong 
desire  to  travel,  a  "trip"  very  often  is  chosen  as  the  alternative  to 
another  child. 

The  desire  to  attain  culture  is  also  a  motive  leading  to  family 
restriction  in  many  cases.  A  certain  amount  of  leisure  and  freedom 
from  harassing  care  are  necessary  to  the  development  of  a  cultured 
personality.  A  large  familj^  of  children  or  even  a  moderate-sized 
family  is  apt  to  make  the  work  and  the  worry  of  maintaining  class 
standards  so  difficult  that  one  will  have  little  energy  or  inclination  for 
anything  beyond  the  daily  routine.  The  realization  that  this  is  likely 
to  take  place  causes  many  people  to  raise  only  one  or  two  children. 
They  feel  that  the  sacrifice  of  self-development  involved  in  rearing 
more  is  too  great. 

We  have  no  very  extensive  data  bearing  on  the  birth  rate  and 
death  rate  in  this  class,  but  such  data  as  we  have  seem  to  justify  the 
conclusion  that  there  is  no  natural  increase.  My  own  belief  is  that 
this  class  does  not  produce  enough  children  to  keep  up  its  numbers, 
but  we  must  await  further  investigations  before  we  can  be  positive 
on  this  point. 

THE    WEALTHY    CLASS 

There  is  no  sharp  line  dividing  the  fourth  class  from  the  third 
either  in  regard  to  the  motives  leading  to  family  restriction  or  the 
rate  of  natural  increase.  Family  limitation  is  almost  universal  in 
the  fourth  class  and  ambition,  in  one  form  or  another,  and  love  of 
ease  are  the  most  powerful  motives  leading  to  it. 

This  class  is  quite  small,  comprising  not  more  than  a  few  hundred 
thousand  families  (judging  from  the  federal  income  tax  returns). 
The  great  majority  of  the  men  belonging  to  it  are  men  having  incomes 
near  the  lower  limit.  Most  of  these  men  hope  very  soon  to  increase 
their  incomes  and  are  struggling  desperately  to  rise.  Nowhere  in  our 
population  is  the  competition  more  strenuous  than  between  men  who 
have  attained  some  measure  of  success  and  whose  appetite  for  it  is, 
therefore,  insatiable.  These  men  are  "climbers"  in  their  lines  and 
very  often  their  wives  are  social  "climbers."  Thus  the  chief  interests 
of  both  husband  and  wife  lie  outside  the  home  and  children  are  re- 
garded as  a  burden.  Such  people  have  no  real  home  life  and  do  not 
care  enough  for  it  to  stop  scrambling  for  position.  The  husband 
only  too  often  thinks  of  his  wife  as  the  means  to  a  larger  acquaintance 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  133 

among  people  who  may  be  able  to  help  him  along  and  the  wife  regards 
the  husband  and  home  merely  as  necessary  incidents  to  respectability. 
The  result  is  that  their  families  almost  never  comprise  more  than  two 
children  and  very  often  none  at  all. 

These  "climbers"  have  neither  accumulated  wealth  nor  do  they 
have  very  assured  positions  in  society.  They  have  therefore  nothing 
definite  to  bequeath  to  their  children.  They  have  no  pride  of  family 
urging  them  to  leave  descendants  to  carry  on  the  familj^  name  and 
traditions;  they  have  no  definite  position  in  the  community,  which 
they  can  be  assured  of  transmitting  to  their  children.  These  people 
are  themselves  adrift,  they  know  not  whither  they  are  bound,  and 
many  of  them  feel,  in  their  more  serious  moments,  that  life  is  so  un- 
certain and  there  is  so  little  worth  while  to  be  got  out  of  it  that  they 
will  save  trouble  all  around  if  they  have  no  children. 

On  the  other  hand,  among  the  wealthy,  whose  position  is  assured, 
there  is  a  certain  amount  of  pride  in  one's  family,  leading  them  to  rear 
children  to  carrj^  on  the  family  name  and  fortune.  They  have  not 
only  wealth  but  a  much-coveted  position  in  the  community  which 
they  can  command  for  their  descendants.  This  portion  of  the  wealthy 
class  probably  more  nearly  reproduces  itself  than  the  "climbing" 
portion. 

Undoubtedly  the  sheltered  lives  of  ease  and  luxury  led  by  many 
girls  in  the  wealth}-  class  and  even  by  some  in  the  well-to-do  class 
disincline  them  to  undergo  the  hardships  of  bearing  and  rearing  a 
family.  To  a  girl  who  has  been  brought  up  in  the  belief  that  her  own 
whims  and  desires  are  of  prime  importance  and  that  all  values  are  to 
be  judged  by  these  pampered  inclinations  it  is  often  inconceivable 
that  she  should  deliberately  do  anything  to  bring  herself  pain  and  work 
and  worry  and  probably  even  deprivation  of  some  customary  luxuries. 
Such  girls  brought  up  apart  from  the  stern  realities  of  life  are  not  cap- 
able of  judging  values  aright.  They  know  little  of  the  feelings  and 
values  which  grow  up  naturally  when  men  and  women  struggle  side 
by  side,  help  to  bear  one  another's  burdens,  share  sorrows  as  well  as 
joys  and,  above  all,  live  close  to  the  great  streams  of  simple,  work-a-day 
humanity.  Women  whose  only  passion  is  for  ease  and  luxury  lose 
tpuch  with  humanity  and  substitute  for  true  human  values  those  of 
a  small  and  highh-  institutionalized  class. 

It  is  especially'  unfortu'nate  that  the  women  of  this  class  do  not 
rear  moderate-sized  families,  because  they  are  so  widely  imitated  by 
the  women  in  other  classes. 


134  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

THE    REASONS    FOR    THE    HIGH    BIRTH    RATE    IN    THE    COUNTRY 

There  is  no  need  of  dividing  the  rural  population  into  classes  in 
order  to  study  the  causes  of  the  relatively  high  birth  rate  in  the  country. 
The  great  majority  of  people  living  in  the  country  have  incomes 
(counting  what  they  use  directly  from  the  land)  about  the  same  as 
those  in  the  comfortable  class  in  the  city.  There  are  some  people 
in  the  rural  population  who  are  really  poor  and  there  are  a  few  who 
belong  to  the  well-to-do  and  wealthy  classes  but  these  two  extremes 
(not  taking  the  negroes  into  account)  comprise  only  a  very  small 
proportion  of  the  whole.  For  this  reason  and  also  because  I  believe 
that  all  classes  of  people  in  the  country,  in  spite  of  considerable 
differences  in  their  incomes,  think  in  much  the  way  same  regarding 
the  size  of  their  families,  I  shall  speak  of  the  farmer  and  non-farming 
rural  population  as  belonging  to  a  single  class. 

The  women  raised  in  the  country  have  been  trained  to  be  home- 
makers.  The  changes  which  have  been  referred  to  above  as  unfitting 
many  city  girls  to  become  good  homemakers  have  not  affected  the 
country  to  any  great  extent.  The  country  girl  learns  to  help  her 
mother  about  the  home  almost  as  soon  as  she  can  walk.  There  are 
numberless  little  tasks  that  she  can  do  before  and  after  school  hours. 
If  she  happens  to  be  an  older  child  she  gets  training  in  caring  for  the 
younger  children.  She  learns  to  make  butter,  care  for  the  chickens, 
and  to  raise  a  garden  as  well  as  to  cook  and  keep  house.  She  never 
lacks  for  work  about  the  home  during  vacations  and  after  she  has 
finished  the  country  school.  She  grows  up  with  the  idea  that  her 
place  in  the  world  is  to  be  a  wife  and  mother.  She  never  learns  that 
the  world  offers  almost  numberless  opportunities  to  women  to  do 
things  outside  the  home.  When  the  time  comes  for  her  to  marry 
she  knows  what  is  expected  of  her  and  she  is  trained  to  the  task. 

The  country  woman  who  keeps  house  and  does  the  work  usually 
connected  with  housekeeping  on  the  farm  never  needs  to  feel  that  she 
may  be  an  economic  hindrance  to  her  husband  as  many  city  women 
must.  She  knows,  as  her  husband  too  often  does  not,  that  she  is 
helping  to  make  the  farm  pay.  Her  garden  and  chickens  and  butter 
and  her  daily  economies  constitute  a  positive  contribution  to  the 
welfare  of  the  family  greater,  in  all  probability,  than  that  of  many 
city  women  who  work  outside  the  home.  A  farm  is  commonly  a 
partnership  affair  on  its  producing  side,  but  as  in  most  other  industries 
the  "boss"  is  able  to  distribute  the  product  according  to  his  desires 
rather  than  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  justice. 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  135 

The  fact  that  the  woman  is  such  a  direct  economic  asset  on  the  farm 
probably  accounts  for  the  greater  proportion  of  married  women  in  the 
country  and  the  earlier  marriages  there.  Both  of  these  things  help 
to  keep  the  birth  rate  in  the  country  relatively  high. 

Children,  too,  are  generally  of  economic  value  on  the  farm  earlier 
than  they  are  in  the  city.  There  are  many  kinds  of  tasks  both  for 
boys  and  girls  on  the  farm  which  do  not  injure  their  health  but  which 
help  to  keep  the  work  going  smoothl5\  The  bringing  in  of  fuel,  the 
care  of  calves  and  colts  and  pigs,  errands  to  and  from  the  fields,  the 
assistance  with  the  garden,  all  can  be  done  by  boj^s  and  girls,  without 
injury  to  health,  outside  of  school  hours  and  during  vacations.  Be- 
sides the  boy  can  even  help  with  the  field  work  by  the  time  he  is  ten 
or  twelve  and  be  aU  the  better  for  it,  so  long  as  he  does  little  but  drive 
a  team  hitched  to  light  machinery.  He  can  also  help  with  the  lighter 
parts  of  the  heavier  chores — the  care  of  horses  and  cattle.  The  girl 
in  addition  to  her  chores  outside  the  house  can  be  of  use  to  her  mother 
in  the  house  in  a  hundred  ways  and  if  not  overworked  will  in  no  wa}'- 
be  injured.  I  am  fully  aware  that  many  country  children  are  over- 
worked and  underplayed,  but  I  do  not  believe  that  such  a  state  of 
affairs  is  at  all  general.  If  it  is,  however,  it  only  goes  to  prove  that 
country  people  find  children  more  economically  valuable  than  I  have 
supposed  they  are,  therefore,  more  willing  to  have  good-sized  families. 

In  the  country  both  boys  and  girls  work  at  home  by  the  side  of  their 
parents.  Because  of  this  they  very  soon  learn  that  both  father  and 
mother  arc  working  for  the  same  ends  and  that  they  are  helping  their 
parents  to  attain  these  ends.  There  is  thus  developed  a  unity  of 
interest  in  the  family  in  the  country  which  is  very  often  lacking  in  the 
family  in  the  city.  Because  of  this  close  personal  contact  between 
parents  and  children  while  at  work,  there  is  less  danger  that  the 
morals  of  the  country  children  will  be  corrupted.  I  would  not  be 
understood  to  say  that,  morally,  all  is  as  it  should  be  in  the  country — 
far  from  it — but  there  is  less  chance  that  the  average  country  boy 
will  become  utterly  good-for-nothing  than  that  the  city  boy  will. 
I  am  quite  convinced  that  the  fact  parents  and  children  spend  much 
time  working  together  in  the  country  has  a  wholesome  influence  on 
the  children  in  teaching  them  habits  of  steady  application  and  thrift, 
while  the  fact  that  parents  and  children  are  together  so  little  in  the 
city  has,  in  general,  a  demoralizing  effect.  This  brings  it  about  that 
parents  in  the  country  have  less  reason  to  fear  for  the  future  of  their 
children  and  are  therefore  more  willing  to  raise  good-sized  families. 


136  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

Another  way  in  which  the  unity  of  interest  is  developed  in  the 
family  in  the  country  is  through  the  discussion  of  family  affairs  in 
the  home.  Most  of  the  things  of  a  local  nature  that  the  farmer  and 
his  wife  are  interested  in  can  be  discussed  with  profit  before  the 
children.  From  the  time  the  children  are  ten  or  eleven  years  old 
they  can  understand  something  of  the  problems  of  farm  management 
and  household  management  and  they  are  also  interested  in  what  is 
going  on  in  the  neighborhood.  In  fact,  the  children  very  often  have 
something  to  contribute  that  is  of  interest  to  the  parents.  Thus  the 
whole  family  grows  up  within  the  same  circle  of  interests  and  every 
member  feels  that  he  is  included  in  any  discussion  or  conversation 
that  may  arise.  How  different  is  the  situation  in  the  city!  The 
business  man  comes  home  from  the  office  or  store  with  weighty  matters 
on  his  mind  and  he  finds  it  impossible  to  relieve  himself  by  talking  to 
the  whole  family,  or  even  to  his  wife,  because  the  thing  absorbing  his 
attention  is  highly  technical.  He  finds  his  wife  and  children  talking 
about  neighborhood  or  school  matters  of  which  he  knows  little  or 
nothing.  So  the  family  instead  of  being  brought  into  closer  unity  by  a 
mutual  understanding  of  one  another's  interests  is  divided  and  the 
members  may  feel  rather  indifferent  towards  one  another.  Modern 
city  life  seems  to  me  to  have  an  increasing  tendency  to  diversify  the 
interests  of  the  members  of  the  family  rather  than  to  centralize  them 
as  rural  life  does. 

Country  life,  therefore,  makes  it  easier  to  keep  alive  personal  interest 
in  human  beings  than  city  life  does.  Definite  personal  interests — 
interest  in  wife  and  children,  interest  in  school  and  church,  interest  in 
neighbors — take  up  a  goodly  share  of  the  farmer's  thought.  He  does 
not  become  engrossed  with  entirely  impersonal  matters  as  the  city 
man  is  apt  to.  He  must  deal  directly  and  humanly  with  people  at 
almost  every  turn,  while  the  city  man  deals  more  and  more  with 
things  directly  and  people  only  indirectly  and  technically.  But  even 
if  the  farmer  becomes  engrossed  with  things,  e.g.,  the  extension  of  his 
acres,  he  yet  hopes  that  he  will  have  the  children  to  help  him  till 
these  new  acres  and  to  whom  he  can  leave  them,  so  that  after  all  it  is 
a  family  interest  he  is  looking  out  for.  I  am  quite  certain  that  the 
more  human  and  personal  nature  of  the  life  of  country  people  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  city  people  makes  them  willing  to  raise  larger 
families. 

Another  reason  for  large  families  in  the  country  is  that  it  is  easier 
to  raise  a  good-sized  family  there  than  in  the  city  aside  from  the  fact 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  137 

country  children  early  become  an  economic  asset.  The  "barefoot 
boy  with  cheek  of  tan"  is  to  be  seen  wherever  one  goes  in  the  open 
country  and  usually  his  little  sister  is  with  him.  The  clothes  may  be 
soiled,  the  faces  and  hands  dirty,  but  it  is  usually  the  "clean  dirt" 
of  the  open  country — the  mud  from  the  creek,  the  dust  from  the  road 
or  the  stain  of  fruit  and  berries — not  the  foul  slime  from  the  gutter 
which  one  sees  on  the  children  in  the  poorer  parts  of  our  cities. 

The  country  child  always  has  a  big  playground  at  hand.  In  this 
plaj'ground  are  wagons  and  buggies,  cultivators  and  plows,  machinery 
and  tools,  cattle  and  horses,  all  of  which  call  for  careful  attention  and 
invite  to  manipulation.  Many  are  the  months  and  even  years  which 
the  child  can  spend  in  playing  with  things  which  he  will  later  want  to 
use  in  his  work. . 

If  the  children  are  not  in  the  farm  yard  at  play  the  mother  ma}'  be 
quite  sure  that  they  are  safe  wherever  they  are.  Besides,  she  knows 
all  the  neighbors'  children  and  knows  whether  or  not  they  are  good 
companions. 

The  dressing  of  the  children  for  school  so  that  they  will  look  respec- 
table is  not  the  trying  task  it  often  is  in  the  cit3^  Cleanliness  and 
comfort  are  the  two  chief  standards  of  respectability  and  they  may  be 
attained  quite  easily  in  the  country.  Colored  dresses  for  the  girls, 
with  big  aprons;  overalls  and  blue  shirts  for  the  boys,  with  black 
stockings  and  heav}'-  shoes  for  both,  are  sufficient  for  their  require- 
ments, and,  for  my  own  part,  I  think  they  look  very  well. 

Furthermore,  country  children  do  not  have  the  continual  entice- 
ments to  spend  money  that  the  city  children  have.  They  do  not  see 
the  gaudy  display  of  toys  and  candies  in  the  store  windows  on  their 
way  to  and  from  school  and,  recently,  the  brilliant-colored  lithographs 
of  the  "movies."  If  the  country  boy  wants  a  sled  he  probably  makes 
one,  thus  saving  money  and  learning  something  useful.  Country 
children  learn  to  amuse  themselves  rather  than  to  ask  papa  for  money 
to  pay  to  be  amused  and  this  can  not  fail  to  relieve  the  country  mother 
of  much  worry,  because  while  amusing  themselves  around  the  home 
they  are  not  very  likely  to  get  into  serious  mischief.  We  must  all 
agree,  I  think,  that  it  costs  less,  in  money,  in  work,  and  in  worry,  to 
rear  a  child  in  the  country  than  in  the  city,  and  for  this  reason  country 
people  are  more  willing  to  rear  them. 

Moreover,  the  relatively  secure  economic  position  of  the  farmer 
makes  him  and  his  wife  more  willing  to  raise  a  good-sized  family. 
The  industrious  farmer,  either  renter  or  owner,  is  practically  certain 


138  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

of  a  fair  living.  Panics  and  hard  times  do  not  affect  him  as  they  do 
the  industrial  worker.  Dissatisfaction  of  the  capitalist  manufacturers 
over  a  new  tariff  schedule  does  not  throw  the  farmer  out  of  a  job  nor 
render  his  living  precarious,  as  it  may  the  city  worker.  In  fact  the 
farmer  is  more  or  less  immune  from  the  most  of  disturbing  conditions 
connected  with  modern  industry.  Of  course,  he  occasionally  loses  a 
crop.  But  now-a-days  when  the  farmer  raises  a  number  of  different 
crops  he  very  seldom  has  a  total  failure  in  all  of  them.  For  these 
reasons  a  farmer  does  not  need  to  worry  whether  he  will  be  able  to 
feed  and  clothe  his  family,  as  many  men  in  the  city  do.  He  can  be 
practically  certain  that  he  will  be  able  to  meet  the  ordinary  exigencies 
of  life  without  a  great  deal  of  hardship  to  himself  and  his  family. 
Because  of  this  feeling  of  security  of  position  the  farmer  has  less  reason 
than  the  city  man  to  feel  that  he  is  giving  irredeemable  hostages  to 
fortune  when  he  has  a  large  family. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  city  many  people  limit  their  families 
because  they  feel  that  they  can  not  otherwise  give  their  children  the 
best  opportunities.  This  motive  to  family  limitation  has  very  little 
influence  in  the  country.  The  farmer  generally  regards  his  duty  to 
the  child  as  fulfilled  if  he  allows  him  to  complete  the  country  school. 
He  is  quite  sure  that  the  boy  who  amounts  to  anything  can  shift  for 
himself  if  he  has  a  common-school  education  and  has  learned  habits 
of  stead}'  application. 

In  the  environment  of  the  country  most  farmers  come  to  believe 
that  the  schooling  which  was  good  enough  for  them  is  good  enough  for 
their  children.  Only  a  few  make  plans  for  the  better  education  of  their 
children  which  involve  saving  and  preparing  years  ahead.  This  is 
not  because  the  farmer  does  not  want  his  boy  and  girl  to  have  as  good 
opportunities  as  other  boys  and  girls,  but  rather  because  the  only 
opportunities  he  knows  about  are  on  the  land  and  he  does  not  see  how 
an  expensive  education  can  help  the  boy  to  raise  better  crops.  The 
average  farmer  little  realizes  how  many  opportunities  are  open  to  the 
young  man  with  a  good  education  which  are  closed  to  the  one  with  only 
a  common-school  training  because  he  does  not  realize  the  growing 
complexity  of  modern  life.  Therefore  the  farmer  finds  no  reason  to 
limit  his  family  in  the  hope  that  he  may  thereby  be  able  to  give  the 
smaller  number  of  children  an  expensive  training  for  their  life  work. 

In  the  past,  too,  the  farmer  has  known  that  there  were  good  oppor- 
tunities farther  west  if  his  family  was  too  big  to  settle  on  the  home 
place,  and  so  he  felt  little  anxiety  over  the  future  of  his  children. 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  139 

Even  when  the  boy  prefers  to  go  to  the  city  rather  than  to  go  west  the 
farmer  feels  little  doubt  about  his  ability  to  compete  with  the  city 
boy.  He  firmly  believes  that  his  boy  can  take  care  of  himself  wher- 
ever he  may  go.  He  also  knows  that  the  boy  who  works  at  home 
until  he  is  twenty  or  more  years  of  age  owes  him  little  economically 
for  his  ''keep"  and  he  does  not  feel  that  either  his  situation  or  the 
future  of  the  boy  would  be  much  changed  by  rearing  a  smaller  family. 

THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  THE  FUTURE 

In  the  opinion  of  the  writer  there  is  little  danger  that  the  newer 
immigrants  will  supplant  the  older  stocks  by  any  natural  process  of 
population  growth.  If  they  supplant  the  older  sifccks  it  will  be  because 
adequate  restrictions  are  not  placed  upon  their  entrance  into  this 
country.  The  future  racial  constitution  of  this  country  can  be  deter- 
mined by  prompt  adoption  of  simple  legislative  enactments  for  this 
purpose.  If,  however,  nothing  is  done  and  matters  are  allowed  to 
proceed  as  in  the  past,  the  situation  may  soon  be  beyond  control. 
Should  the  time  come  when  our  whole  population  of  Nordic  stock  is 
subjected  to  the  same  severe  competition  with  immigrants  as  our  city 
population  has  been  for  some  time  past,  no  amount  of  legislative  action 
or  exhortation  will  prevent  the  rather  rapid  conquest  of  the  United 
States  by  peoples  from  southern  and  eastern  Europe. 

General  Walker  long  ago  pointed  out  the  fact  that  our  population 
growi;h,  as  a  nation,  had  been  influenced  very  little  by  immigration. 
He  believed  that  the  competition  of  immigrants  with  older  stocks  so 
reduced  the  birth  rate  of  the  latter  that  the  immigrants  just  about 
made  up  the  loss.  There  can  be  no  question  that  the  opportunities 
which  people  see  for  themselves  and  their  children  to  gain  a  good  living 
determine  the  size  of  families  to  quite  an  extent.  Since  native  men 
and  women  have  seen  less  and  less  opportunity  as  competition  with 
immigrants  increased,  and  even  a  moderate  amount  of  ambition  has 
led  them  to  restrict  the  size  of  their  families  until  the  older  stocks  in 
our  cities  are  dying  out.  Ambition  of  country  people  has  been  more 
moderate  than  that  of  city  people  and  the  opportunities  they  coveted 
for  their  children  have  not  been  subject  to  the  same  competition  from 
other  groups  and  so  the  native  stock  on  the  farms  has  gone  on  increas- 
ing at  a  good  rate. 

At  present  most  of  our  large  cities  are  peopled  by  stocks  different 
from  the  prevailing  stock  of  the  open  country.  The  city  people  are 
an  amorphous  mass  of  humanity  wliose  purposes  and  aims  are  not 


140  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

understood  b}'  country  people.  Nor  are  the  farmers  understood  by 
the  mass  of  city  dwellers.  These  groups  are  mutually  suspicious. 
They  have  no  common  historical  background  and  few  common  aims 
and  purposes.  The  suspicion  and  distrust  of  one  another  feeds  upon 
social  differences  and  mutual  lack  of  understanding.  Just  how  much 
of  this  suspicion  and  distrust  is  due  to  racial  differences  and  how  much 
to  the  natural  antagonism  of  agricultural  and  commercial  and  manu- 
facturing interests,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  say.  I  believe,  however, 
that  the  different  racial  elements  in  these  groups  make  mutual  under- 
standing more  difficult  and  may  lead  to  some  rather  serious  conse- 
quences when  both  groujDs  become  better  organized.  If  immigrants 
are  allowed  to  come  practically  without  restriction,  as  before  the  war, 
the  racial  differences  between  these  groups  will  become  still  more 
marked  and  the  possibility  of  misunderstandings  thereby  increased. 

THE    EUGENIC    SITUATION 

From  the  standpoint  of  eugenics  the  effects  of  our  present  popula- 
tion movements  merit  careful  consideration.  Is  it  eugenically  desir- 
able that  our  population  should  continue  to  increase  most  rapidly  in  the 
country  and  in  the  poorer  classes  in  the  city,  while  the  well-to-do  and 
wealthy  classes  increase  very  slowly  if  at  all?  In  what  ways,  if  any, 
is  this  process  leading  to  a  survival  of  the  unfit? 

Our  rural  population,  as  a  whole,  is  of  good  eugenic  value.  The 
people  are  hardy,  energetic  and  of  good  habits.  Their  hereditary 
capacities  are  in  general  good  and  sound.  Their  average  of  ability  is 
high.  I  am  well  aware  that  there  are  many  biologically  degenerate 
families  and  neighborhoods  in  the  country  but  they  form  only  a  very 
small  proportion  of  the  total  rural  population.  Aside  from  these 
biologically  inferior  people,  who  should  be  prevented  from  propagating 
their  kind,  the  relatively  rapid  rate  of  increase  of  the  rural  population 
is  eugenically  desirable  because  it  adds  a  large  increment  of  good  stock 
to  our  population  year  by  year.  Certainly,  so  long  as  the  increase  of 
our  population  comes  most  largely  from  the  country  we  need  have  no 
fear  that  the  quality  of  the  stock  is  deteriorating. 

The  poorer  classes  in  the  cities  are  also  of  good  stock  although,  in 
my  opinion,  they  contain  a  slightly  larger  percentage  of  hereditary 
degenerates  than  the  rural  population.  Poverty  is  not,  as  so  many 
are  accustomed  to  think,  prima  facie  proof  of  inferiority.  In  most 
cases  it  is  a  result  of  lack  of  opportunity  rather  than  of  lack  of  ability. 
In  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  however,  the  percentage  of  those  who 


KACE    SUICIDE    IX    THE    UNITED    STATES  141 

lack  ability  is  larger  among  the  poor  than  among  other  classes.  The 
indolent,  the  incompetent  and  the  good-for-nothing  drift  into  the 
poor  class  as  naturally  as  a  stone  sinks  to  the  bottom  of  the  pond. 
The  question  of  the  mental  capacity  of  our  recent  immigrants  who 
belong  chief!}"  to  this  class  is  one  which  I  cannot  discuss  here.  I  wish 
to  say,  however,  that  no  convincing  proof  has  ever  been  offered  to 
show  that  they  are  essentially  inferior  to  the  older  stocks.  Moreover, 
I  have  never  found  a  person  knowing  any  group  of  them  well  who  does 
not  believe  that  they  are  of  sound  stock  and  of  good  average  capacity. 
It  seems  to  me,  then,  that  this  class,  as  a  whole,  may  be  said  to  be  of 
good  heredity  and  that  we  need  not  fear  deterioration  of  our  popula- 
tion because  of  its  relatively  rapid  increase. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  there  is  a  certain  small 
percentage  in  this  class  that  is  biologicalh'  unfit.  The  people  in  this 
small  group  constitute  a  menace  not  only  to  the  standards  of  the  poor 
class,  but  also  to  the  well-being  of^the  whole  community  and  conse- 
quently should  be  treated  as  wards  of  the  state  and  should  be  segre- 
gated so  that  they  cannot  propagate. 

The  real  hereditary  degenerates  of  the  nation  are  found  chiefly  in 
the  rural  population  and  in  the  poorer  class  in  the  city.  So  far  as  can 
be  judged  from  numerous  special  studies  these  unfit  are  increasing  at 
a  rather  rapid  rate,  although  not  as  rapidly  as  the  normal  members  of 
these  classes.  Year  by  year  the  number  of  incompetents  who  cannot 
be  raised  to  normal  conditions  of  living  by  the  improvement  of  their 
environment  is  increasing.  Thus  we  find  a  steady  absolute,  if  not 
relative,  growth  of  the  lowest  stratum  of  the  population.  Contrast 
this  with  the  situation  found  at  the  other  extreme — among  the  well- 
to-do  and  the  wealthy. 

In  the  upper  economic  classes  there  is  no  natural  increase  of  popula- 
tion, but  in  all  probability  a  decrease  from  year  to  year.  It  was 
shown  above  that  the  graduates  of  women's  colleges  were  only  rearing 
about  enough  children  to  replace  themselves,  to  say  nothing  of  their 
husbands.  There  is  very  good  reason  to  believe  that  this  is  true  of  the 
upper  economic  classes  as  a  whole.  These  classes  contain  a  high 
average  of  ability.  Most  men  who  belong  to  them  have  risen  from  a 
lower  economic  class.  They  have  proved  by  their  rise  that  they 
have  more  of  certain  kinds  of  ability,  on  the  average,  than  other 
members  of  the  classes  from  which  they  rose  who  had  equal  oppor- 
tunities. They  have  shown  adaptability,  energy  and  initiative  above 
the  mean. 


142  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

It  may  be  objected  that  many  are  born  into  these  classes  and  there 
is  no  proof  that  they  have  more  than  average  ability.  The  latest 
developments  in  our  knowledge  of  heredity  show  us  that  the  hereditary 
qualities  of  people  pass  from  generation  to  generation  with  but  little 
change.  The  cases  of  the  children  of  the  wealthy  who  do  not  amount 
to  anything  furnish  no  proof  that  they  do  not  have  good  capacities. 
They  merely  prove  that  their  training,  perhaps  their  health,  and  the 
environmental  influences  by  which  they  have  been  surrounded,  were 
bad  and  unwholesome.  I  recall  reading  in  Montaigne  the  opinion 
that  princes  usually  learned  nothing  well  except  the  management  of 
horses.  He  explained  this  as  due  to  the  fact  that  the  people  about 
them  always  flattered  them  and  gave  way  to  their  caprices  and  re- 
quired nothing  thorough  of  them,  while  horses  made  no  distinction 
between  princes  and  commons  and  consequently  they  were  forced 
to  learn  the  management  of  horses  thoroughly.  The  children  of  our 
upper  classes  are  much  like  princes.  They  are  seldom  subjected  to 
adequate  discipline  and  it  is  rather  a  wonder  that  so  many  of  them 
turn  out  well  than  that  many  are  utterly  useless.  I  think  there  can 
be  no  serious  doubt  of  the  fact  that  the  members  of  the  upper  classes, 
whether  they  have  risen  into  them  through  their  own  efforts  or  were 
born  into  them,  have  a  somewhat  better  heredity  than  the  average  of 
the  population. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  we  are  considering  the  average  of 
ability  in  these  upper  classes,  for  there  are  no  doubt  in  them  indi- 
viduals of  very  ordinary  capacities  and  some  few  who  are  biologically 
degenerate.  There  are  those  who  become  members  of  these  classes 
by  the  merest  chance,  having  no  merit  of  their  own  entitling  them  to 
distinction  of  any  sort.  Then  there  are  those  whose  financial  success 
is  due  to  certain  qualities — callousness,  ruthlessness,  indomitable 
ambition  for  wealth,  selfishness,  greed  and  brute  force — who  should 
not,  in  the  interest  of  the  general  welfare,  be  in  positions  of  importance 
and  power.  But  in  spite  of  the  presence  of  many  people  in  the  upper 
classes  who  are  of  very  ordinary  capacity  I  believe  that  the  average 
of  ability  in  these  classes  is  somewhat  higher  than  in  other  classes. 

If  this  is  true,  then  it  is  a  very  serious  matter  that  these  classes  do 
not  reproduce  themselves.  One  objection  often  raised  to  a  democratic 
country  is  that  the  breaking  down  of  class  lines  is  likely  to  lead  to  the 
depletion  of  the  best  stocks.  It  would  seem  that  this  is  now  happening 
•in  the  United  States.  We  pride  ourselves  on  the  fact  that  people  with 
initiative,  energy,  ambition,  imagination  and  good  minds  can  rise 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  143 

from  the  most  hmnble  conditions  to  positions  of  wealth  and  influence 
in  the  upper  classes.  This  very  ease  of  rising  tends  to  extinguish 
much  of  our  best  ability  in  a  single  generation.  A  man  from  the  poor 
class,  with  no  family  traditions  to  uphold,  and  therefore,  with  no 
concern  for  the  future  of  his  own  family,  struggles  to  rise.  He  suc- 
ceeds in  attaining  wealth  or  prominence  or  both.  He  has  not  more 
than  three  children  at  most  and  often  none.  His  family  soon  dies  out 
and  his  ability  is  lost  to  the  nation.  This  process  is  going  on  with  great 
rapidity  at  the  present  time  and  in  my  judgment  is  the  most  serious 
phase  of  race  suicide.  However  large  the  supply  of  excellent  ability 
in  the  lower  classes  from  which  the  upper  classes  may  draw,  this  process 
of  obtaining  leaders  cannot  go  on  indefinitel}^  without  weakening 
the  nation. 

In  view  of  what  has  been  pointed  out  above  I  would  take  issue  with 
those  who  believe  that  the  rate  of  increase  of  the  nation,  as  a  whole, 
is  not  sufficiently  large — who  believe  that  a  more  rapid  rate  of  popula- 
tion growth  is  all  that  is  needed  to  prove  that  our  people  still  possess 
the  vigor  of  their  ancestors.  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  our 
population  is  increasing  as  fast  as  it  can  be  provided  with  the  means 
of  maintaining  a  good  standard  of  living.  It  is  a  serious  matter,  how- 
ever, that  the  lowest  class,  the  biologically  unfit,  is  steadily  increasing 
while  the  better  stocks  are  dying  out.  If  the  upper  classes  were  to 
raise  fair-sized  families — four  or  five  children — the  national  birth 
rate  would  be  raised  but  slightly  and  yet  the  good  capacities  and 
abilities  of  these  people  would  be  saved  to  the  nation.  There  is  little 
doubt,  moreover,  that  if  the  children  of  these  classes  were  raised  in 
fair-sized  families  they  would  get  better  training  and  discipline  for 
life  than  they  now  do. 

What  can  be  done  to  encourage  the  upper  classes  to  raise  fair-sized 
families?  Certainly  nothing  can  be  done  by  legislation.  Birth  con- 
trol has  come  to  stay  and  bounties  for  large  families  will  only  be 
accepted  by  the  improvident — the  very  class  which  should  not  be 
encouraged  to  raise  a  numerous  progeny. 

A  general  hue  and  cry  about  our  low  birth  rate  will  be  of  no  effect. 
The  problem  is  one  of  developing  standards  of  life  in  the  upper  classes 
which  are  not  incompatible  with  the  raising  of  a  family  of  four  or  five 
children.  This  will  involve  a  simplification  of  present  standards. 
There  is  neither  time  nor  energy  for  good  home  life  and  all  of  the 
external  activities  now  engaged  in  by  people  of  these  classes.  The 
raising  of  a  family  of  moderate  size  involves  a  choice  of  a  home  life 


144  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

with  much  unobtrusive  sacrifice  in  preference  to  a  Hfe  with  a  large 
amount  of  personal  gratification  and  a  minimum  of  responsibility  to 
others.  Certainly  the  choice  of  the  former  requires  some  fortitude 
when  one  belongs  to  a  class  where  the  latter  is  regarded  as  the  only 
normal  life.  If  any  great  change  is  to  be  wrought  in  the  habits  of  the 
upper  classes  it  must  come  from  the  examples  set  by  those  who  believe 
that  life  is  a  serious  matter  and  should  not  be  frittered  away  in  doing 
solely  those  things  which  make  for  their  common  personal  gratification. 
If  any  considerable  number  of  wealthy  people  so  conducted  their 
home  life  and  their  business  affairs  that  other  members  of  the  upper 
classes  were  convinced  of  their  serious  moral  purpose,  they  would 
imitate  them  and  we  should  have  little  need  to  deplore  the  dying  out 
of  our  better  stock. 

Along  with  the  return  to  a  more  simple  life  we  need  to  develop  a 
just  pride  of  family.  We  probably  cannot  go  very  far  in  this  direction 
until  we  are  more  mature.  A  family  must  have  back  of  it  some  genera- 
tions of  solid  achievement  and  a  well-developed  tradition  before  pride 
in  it  will  be  a  powerful  motive  leading  to  the  rearing  of  children.  A 
young  people  living  in  an  age  when  all  things  seem  transitory  will  have 
little  of  the  better  sort  of  family  pride.  Such  as  we  have  is  often 
arrogant  and  is  scarcely  more  than  snobbishness.  This  has  led  many 
earnest  people  to  feel  that  concern  about  one's  family — past  or  future — 
is  undemocratic.  But  we  shall  probably  never  get  the  best  out  of  the 
people  in  our  upper  classes — biologically  through  their  children  and 
socially  in  direction  of  national  development — until  they  do  develop 
a  just  pride  in  famil3^  So  long  as  one  is  thinking  merely  of  himself 
and  the  swath  he  can  cut  in  the  present  generation  his  best  energies 
are  quite  likely  to  be  directed  to  the  accumulation  of  the  tangible 
evidences  of  his  success  and  to  the  display  of  these  in  a  conspicuous 
manner.  In  such  a  scheme  of  life  children  are  more  or  less  of  a  nuisance 
and  consequently  are  sbunned. 

If,  after  the  present  standards  of  the  upper  classes  have  undergone 
a  simplification  and  a  just  pride  in  family  has  developed,  there  should 
prove  to  be  any  considerable  number  of  people  in  them  who  will  not 
participate  seriously  both  in  the  life  of  their  own  day  and  in  that  of 
the  future,  through  the  raising  of  children,  it  is  perhaps  just  as  well 
that  they  should  die  out.  Certainly  such  people  will  be  failures  in  a 
larger  social  sense  as  well  as  biologically  and  they  probably  would 
have  nothing  to  contribute  to  the  progress  of  mankind.  One  may 
look  upon  the  dying  out  of  those  who  worship  the  God  Mammon  as 


RACE    SUICIDE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES  145 

nature's  kindly  provision  for  ridding  tlie  world  of  the  over-ambitious, 
egotistic  elements  who  have  missed  the  true  goal  of  living. 

SUMMARY 

A  study  of  the  population  movements  in  the  United  States  shows 
that  the  older  stocks  (Teutonic)  are  dying  out  in  many  places  and 
are  being  supplanted  by  the  newer  immigrants.  In  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island  and  other  states  in  the  northeast  this  process  of  substitu- 
tion has  already  gone  very  far.  In  some  classes,  e.g.,  graduates  of 
women's  colleges,  deaths  are  almost  twice  as  numerous  as  births.  A 
comprehensive  view  of  the  situation  throughout  the  nation  shows 
that  it  is  chiefly  in  the  cities  the  old  stocks  are  not  holding  their  own. 
City  life  seems  to  be  unfavorable  to  the  raising  of  even  moderate-sized 
families  among  all  except  the  poor. 

In  the  rural  districts,  on  the  other  hand,  children  are  numerous  and 
the  rate  of  natural  increase  is  much  in  excess  of  that  of  the  urban 
districts.  If  it  were  not  for  immigration  a  few  generations  would 
find  most  of  our  city  people  tracing  their  descent  back  to  the  rural 
population  of  today.  This  would,  no  doubt,  greatly  simplify  our 
population  problems  of  the  future  for  the  rural  population  of  today 
is  largely  of  old  (Nordic)  stock. 

The  rural  population  has  a  higher  rate  of  increase  than  the  city 
population,  (1)  because  it  has  a  lower  death  rate,  and  (2)  because,  on 
the  average,  the  women  give  birth  to  more  children.  The  death  rate 
is  lower  in  the  country  because  of  its  generally  superior  health  condi- 
tions. The  families  of  country  people  are  larger  than  those  of  city 
people  both  because  they  want  more  children,  consequently  practicing 
birth  control  less,  and  because  involuntary  restriction  is  a  less  im- 
portant factor  in  the  country. 

If  one  divides  the  city  population  into  four  classes:  the  poor,  the 
comfortable,  the  well-to-do,  and  the  wealthy,  he  will  find  that  the 
last  two  classes  almost  universally  limit  the  size  of  their  families 
voluntarily  where  involuntary  sterility,  due  to  venereal  diseases  and 
other  biological  causes,  does  not  render  this  unnecessary.  In  the 
comfortable  class  voluntary  restriction  is  quite  common  but  in  the 
poor  class  it  is  little  practiced. 

Thus  race  suicide  becomes  a  problem  in  eugenics  and  anthropology. 
Is  it  desirable  to  have  our  natural  population  increase  come  chiefly 
from  the  rural  districts  and  the  poor  class  in  the  cities?  Although  the 
vast  majority  of  people  in  these  classes  are  biologically  sound  yet 


146  WARREN    S.    THOMPSON 

most  of  the  biological  degenerates  in  our  population  also  belong  to 
these  two  classes  and  at  present  they  are  propagating  almost  as  rapidly 
as  the  sound  stock.  The  upper  classes — well-to-do  and  wealthy — 
probably  do  not  propagate  themselves,  to  say  nothing  of  adding  to  the 
population.  These  classes  contain  much  of  the  best  ability  in  our 
population.  To  have  them  die  without  leaving  fair-sized  families  is 
a  serious  matter.  It  means  that  much  of  the  superior  ability  of  the 
nation  is  used  up  in  each  generation.  Able  men  and  women  rise  into 
these  classes  and  fail  to  propagate,  thus  eliminating  their  superior 
qualities  from  the  population.  If  this  process  continues  for  any 
length  of  time  it  is  bound  to  be  harmful  to  the  nation. 

The  only  chance  of  changing  the  attitude  of  the  upper  classes  towards 
raising  children  lies  in  changing  their  standards  of  living.  They  must 
live  more  simply.  Ambition,  love  of  ease  and  love  of  luxury  must  be 
moderated  and  humanized  before  the  members  of  these  classes  will 
be  willing  to  raise  fair-sized  families.  A  just  pride  of  family  must 
also  be  developed  among  the  people  in  these  classes  so  that  they  will 
feel  they  have  something  worth  passing  on  to  the  next  generation. 

The  subject  of  the  effects  of  these  conditions  on  the  physical 
standards  of  the  American  people  will  demand  future  attention. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 

ALES  HRDLICKA 

E. — Osteometry 

Anthropometry  of  the  skeletal  parts  (outside  of  the  skull)  is  a 
fertile  and  fascinating  field  in  which  much  as  yet  remains  to  be  exploited 
and  even  explored.  It  is,  moreover,  a  large  field,  which  few  workers 
may  hope  to  cover  in  its  entirety.  Every  bone  of  the  body  presents 
sexual,  racial  and  individual  variations,  many  of  which  remain  to  be 
thoroughly  studied;  and  some  of  these  features,  according  to  indica- 
tions, possess  a  very  considerable  phylogenetic  and  racial  importance. 

Investigations  on  the  skeleton  are  for  the  most  part  of  a  more 
recent  date  than  those  on  the  skull  or  those  on  the  living",  and  have 
been  largely  the  work  of  anatomists.  Descriptive  observations, 
such  as  those  on  the  sexual  characteristics  of  the  pelvis,  or  those  on 
the  perforated  humerus,  pilasteric  femur,  platycnaemic  tibia,  etc., 
preceded  and  accompanied  measurements.  The  first  serious  attempt 
at  osteometry  was  made  essentially  in  France,  and  the  first  system  of 
measurements  was  developed  by  Broca  and  his  pupils  in  Paris.^ 

Since  the  early  seventies  a  whole  series  of  valuable  contributions 
to  the  subject  of  bone  study  and  osteometry  have  been  made,^  and 

1  See  Broca  (P.) — Sur  les  proportions,  relatives  du  bras,  de  I'avant  bras  et  de  la 
clavicule  chez  les  Negres  et  les  Europecns.  Bull.  Soc.  d'Anthrop.  Paris,  1862,  III, 
162-172;  ibid.,  1867,  2  ser.,  II,  641-653.  Hamy  (T.)— Recherches  sur  les  propor- 
tions du  bras  et  d'avant-bras  aux  differents  ages  de  la  vie.  Rev.  d'Anthrop.  Paris, 
1872,  79.     Topinard  (P.) — Elements  d' Anthropologie  Generale,  8°,  Paris,  1885. 

2  Bello  y  Rodriguez  (S.) — Le  f6mur  et  le  tibia.  These,  Paris,  1909.  Biimuller 
(J.) — Das  menschliche  Femur.  Phil.  Diss.,  Miinchen,  1899.  Bertaux  (T.  A.) — 
L'humerus  et  le  f6mur  considdrfe  dans  les  especes,  dans  les  races  humains,  selon  le 
sexe  et  selon  Tagc.  These,  Lille,  1891.  Fischer  (E.) — Die  Variationen  an  Radius 
und  LHna  des  Menschen.  Z.f.  Morph.  A  Anthrop.,  1906,  IX,  147.  Lehmann-Nitsche 
(R.) — Ueber  die  langen  Knochen  der  sudbayerischen  Reihengriiberbevolkerung. 
Phil.  Diss.,  Miinchen;  and  Beitr.  z.  Anthrop.,  &  Urgesch.  Bayerns,  1894,  XI,  H, 
3  &  4.  Livon  (M.)— De  I'omoplate.  These  MH.,  Paris,  1879.  HrdUcka  (iUe§)— 
Physical  Anthropology  of  the  Lenape  or  Delawares,  and  of  the  eastern  Indians  in 
General.  Bxdl.  62,  Bur.  Am.  Ethnol.,  Wash.,  1916.  Pfitzner  (W.)— Bcitriige  zur 
Kenntniss  des  menschlichen  Extremitatens-skeletee.  Morphol.  Arh.,  1892,  I,  516; 
1893,  II,  93.     Rollet  (E.) — La  mensuration  des  os  longs  des  membres.     Thhse  7tUd., 

147 

Amer.  Jour.  Phys.  Anthkop.,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1. 


148  ALES    HRDLICKA 

* 

much  work  in  this  hue,  particularly  in  the  United  States,  is  as  yet  un- 
published. The  repeated  discoveries  of  skeletal  remains  of  early 
man  have  in  particular  stimulated  research  in  this  direction.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  however,  we  are  still  far  from  a  satisfactory 
grasp  of  the  evidence  which  the  bones  embody.  The  reasons  are, 
in  the  first  place,  that  the  gathering  of  skeletal  material  has  always 
lagged  behind  that  of  the  skulls,  so  that  even  today  most  anthropologi- 
cal collections  are  relatively  poor  in  that  respect,  which  hinders  com- 
prehensive and  conclusive  investigations.  Besides  this,  the  bones  of 
the  skeleton  present  many  features  and  correlations  the  study  of  which 
demands  large  series  of  specimens,  and  in  many  cases  also  the  presence 
of  all  the  important  constituents  of  the  skeleton  or  the  bones  of  the 
two  sides  of  the  body,  conditions  which  are  realizable  with  difficulty 
even  among  the  Whites,  not  to  speak  of  other  peoples.  The  field  will 
long  remain,  therefore,  one  of  a  very  considerable  importance,  and  no 
pains  should  be  spared  to  develop  the  technique  of  osteological  ex- 
amination. 

The  scheme  here  presented  rests  on  the  same  principles  as  those 
presented  before  for  anthropometry  and  craniometry.  It  utilizes 
the  most  useful  procedures  of  other  scholars,  supplements  these 
where  extensive  individual  experience  warrants,  leaves  aside  every- 
thing superfluous  or  of  value  only  in  special  studies,  and  aims  at  the 
utmost  simplicity. 

INSTRUMENTS 

The  matter  of  osteometric  instruments  has  already  to  some  extent 
been  dealt  with  in  the  section  on  Craniometry  (Vol.  II,  1919,  p.  50). 
The  essentials  are  few.  They  are  the  Broca's  osteometric  board  (pi. 
1),  the  small  compas  glissiere  and  for  a  few  measurements  also  the  large 
sliding  compass;  but  other  instruments  may  be  needed  for  special 
investigations. 

Lyon,  1889;  Intern.  Monatschr.  cfc  Anat.,  1889,  VI,  345.  Soularue  (j\I.)— Recherches 
sur  les  dimensions  dcs  os  et  les  proportions  squeletiques  de  rhomme.  Bull.  Soc. 
d'Anthrop.  Paris,  1899,  Scr.  4,  X,  328.  Turner  (Sir  Wm.) — Report  on  the  human 
crania  and  other  bones  of  the  skeletons  collected  during  the  voyage  of  H.  M.  S. 
Challenger,  1873-6:  II — The  bones  of  the  skeleton.  Challenger  Reports,  Zool., 
1886,  Pt.  XLVII.  Verneau  (R.) — Le  bassin  dans  les  sexes  et  dans  les  races.  Thlse 
Med.,  Paris,  1875.  Volkov  (Th.) — Variations  squelettiqucs  du  pied  ches  les  primates 
et  dans  les  races  humaines.  Bidl.  Soc.  d'Anthrop.  Paris,  1903,  Ser.  5,  IV,  622;  1904, 
V,  1,  201.  Waldeyer  (W.)— Das  Becken.  Bonn,  1899.  Wetzel  (G.)— Volumen 
und  Gewicht  des  Knochens  als  Massstab  flir  den  phylogenetischen  Entwicklungsgrad. 
Arch.  f.  Entw.  d.  Organismen.  1910,  XXX,  507-537. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 


149 


c3 


/ 


/ 


150  ALES    HRDLICKA 

The  osteometric  board  is  too  well  known  to  need  special  description ; 
but  for  the  original  accessory  square  the  writer  uses  a  block  of  light 
wood  (see  pi.  1),  which  offers  certain  advantages.  The  block  is  9.5 
cm.  high  and  4.5  cm.  thick,  while  its  length  equals  the  breadth  of  the 
board. 

For  description  of  instruments  used  on  special  occasions  the  student 
should  consult  the  original  sources.^ 

BLANKS 

The  matter  of  blanks  in  osteometry  presents  some  difficulties  on 
account  of  the  many  distinct  bones  each  of  which  requires  its  own 
blank.  An  outline  of  a  blank  such  as  used  for  general  purposes  by 
the  writer  will  be  given  separately  with  each  bone.  Such  blanks  may 
be  made  by  the  student  himself,  and  their  scope  may  be  enlarged  as 
demanded  by  the  needs  of  the  occasion.  As  they  are  they  represent 
what  invariably  we  should  know  of  each  of  the  bones. 

observations:  typical  bone  variants  in  form 

Before  proceeding  to  the  measurements,  attention  should  be  given 
to  the  important  subject  of  bone  variations  in  shape. 

Each  of  the  long  bones,  and  also  the  scapulse,  first  rib,  etc.,  present 
a  variety  of  forms  which  are  reducible  to  definite  types,  and  the  fre- 
quency of  these  types  differs  from  race  to  race.  In  the  remainder  of 
the  skeletal  parts  similar  variations  occur,  but  they  are  less  classifiable. 
The  whole  subject  is  of  very  considerable  anthropological,  phylo-  as 
well  as  ontogenetic,  importance. 

In  the  long  bones  the  part  that  varies  most  in  form  is  the  shaft; 
in  the  scapula  it  is  in  the  contour  of  the  bone.^  Bones  of  less  conse- 
quence will  be  considered  on  other  occasions. 

1  Besides  the  Memoirs  of  Broea  and  the  textbooks  of  Topinard  and  Martin,  see : 
Emmons  (A.  B.) — A  study  in  the  variations  of  the  female  pelvis.  Biometrica,  1913, 
IX,  34-57.  Garson  (G.)— Pelvimetry.  J.  Anat.  &  Physiol,  1882,  XVI,  106-134. 
Frassetto  (F.)— Lezioni  di  anthropologia,  1911-1913.  Hepburn  (D.)— A  new  osteo- 
metric board.  J.  Anal.  &  Physiol,  1899,  XXXIV,  111.  Matthews  (W.)— An 
apparatus  for  determining  the  angle  of  torsion  of  the  humerus.  J.  Anat.  &  Physiol., 
1887,  XXI,  536-8.  Russell  (F.) — A  new  instrument  for  measuring  torsion.  Am, 
NaL,  1901,  XXV,  299. 

^  For  original  reports  on  tlxis  subject  see  Hrdlicka  (Ales) — Study  of  the  normal 
tibia.  Am.  Anthrop.  1898,  XI,  307-312;  Proc.  Ass.  Am.  Anal,  11  Sess.,  Wash.  1899, 
61-66.  A  further  contribution  to  the  study  of  the  tibia,  relative  to  its  shapes.  Proc. 
Ass.  Am.  Anal,  XII  &  XIII  Ses.  Wash.  1900,  12-13.— Typical  forms  of  shaft  of 
long  bones.  Proc.  Ass.  Ayn.  Anat.,  XIV  Sess.,  Wash.  1901,  5.5-60.  Also  Bull.  62, 
Bur.  Am.  Ethnol.,  Wash.  1916.     Consult  also:  Manouvrier  (L.) — La  platycn^mie 


ANTHROPOMETRY  151 

Long  Bones:  The  form  of  the  shaft  of  the  long  bones  is  best  differenti- 
ated at  or  near  the  middle  of  the  bones,  in  adult  individuals. 

Variation  in  these  shapes  is  greatest  in  the  Whites.  There  are 
considerable  racial  and  other  group  differences  in  the  relative  fre- 
quency of  the  different  types  of  the  shaft  of  the  various  bones;  no  one 
type,  however,  occurs  exclusively  or  is  completely  absent  in  any  of 
the  human  groups  now  existing.  Some  of  the  shapes  are  common  to 
the  anthropoid  apes,  and  others  occur  far  back  in  the  animal  kingdom. 

The  bones  of  the  lower  extremity  show  more  numerous  and  better 
defined  differentiations  of  form  than  those  of  the  upper  extremity. 
Of  the  individual  long  bones,  the  fibula  presents  the  greatest  variety 
of  shapes;  then  follow  in  the  order  named,  the  tibia,  femur,  humerus, 
ulna,  and  radius. 

Perfect  representations  of  the  various  types  of  each  bone  are  found 
whenever  large  collections  are  examined,  but  the  less  perfect  and 
less  clearly  distinguishable  types  are  alwaj^s  more  common.  Besides 
there  is  always  a  considerable  percentage  of  bones  which  present 
intermediary  or  indefinite,  and  a  small  proportion  which  show  com- 
bined forms. 

The  form  of  shaft  common  to  all  the  long  bones  in  man  is  the  pris- 
matic (No.  1).  The  outline  of  the  cross-section  of  a  shaft  of  this  type 
approaches  the  equilateral  triangle.  This  type  is  also  common  in 
apes,  and  more  or  less  modified  in  lower  mammals.  The  base  of  the 
prism  is  formed  in  the  tibia,  fibula,  and  humerus  by  the  posterior 
surface;  in  the  femur  by  the  anterior  surface;  in  the  ulna  by  the  in- 
ternal, and  in  the  radius  by  the  external  surface  of  the  bone.  In 
whites  this  type  of  shaft  is  most  frequent  in  the  humerus  and  tibia. 
In  the  fibula  it  is  more  or  less  modified  by  the  narrow  anterior  surface 
of  the  bone. 

The  nearest  modifications  of  type  1  are  types  of  shaft  Nos.  2  and  4. 
Type  2  occurs  principally  in  the  tibia,  fibula  and  humerus;  and  is 
characterized  by  the  obliquity  of  the  posterior  surface  of  the  bone. 
The  outline  of  the  cross-section  is  a  lateral  triangle,  a  half  lozenge 
(more  or  less).     Type  4  occurs  in  all  the  long  bones,  and  is  charac- 

chez  rhonirne  et  chez  les  .singes.  Bull.  Soc.  d'Anthrop.  Paris,  1887,  Ser.  3,  X,  128. — • 
M^moire  sur  la  platycn6mie  fhez  I'hoinmc  ct  chez  les  anthropoids.  M6m.  &  Bull. 
Soc.  d'Anthrop.  Paris,  1888,  Sdr.  2,  III,  469. — £tude  sur  les  variations  morphologiques 
du  corps  de  femur  dans  I'espece  humaine.  Bull.  Soc.  d'Anthrop.  Paris,  Sdr.  4,  IV, 
III;  Rev.  d'tcole  d'Anthrop.  Paris,  1893,  III,  389.  And  Graves  (Wm.  W.)— The 
scaphoid  scapula.  Med.  Record,  May  21,  1910;  Wien.  klin.  Woch.,  1912,  XXV,  No. 
6;  J.  Cutan.  Dis.,  etc.,  April,  1913;  and  others  on  same  subject. 


152 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


ANTHROPOMETRY  153 

terized  by  the  presence  of  a  distinct  additional  surface  on  the  shaft. 
The  formation  of  the  surface  differs  in  the  various  bones.  In  the 
tibia  the  additional  surface  results  from  a  division  into  two,  by  a 
vertical  ridge,  of  the  posterior  surface;  in  the  femur  it  is  the  anterior, 
in  the  radius  the  external,  and  in  the  ulna  the  posterior  surface,  which 
occasionally,  through  the  influence  of  a  vertical  ridge,  shows  a  forma- 
tion of  a  distinct  additional  plane;  in  the  humerus,  finally,  a  new, 
anterior  surface  results  occasionally  by  the  broadening  out  of  the 
anterior  border  of  the  bone.  The  cross  section  of  the  shaft  in  these 
cases  differs  fi'om  lozenge  shape  (more  or  less)  to  a  more  even  quad- 
rangle. 

A  special  class  of  modifications  of  the  form  of  the  shaft  is  that 
where  one  or  more  surfaces  of  the  bone  show  a  pronounced  concavity. 
We  find  such  types  (3,  3a,  3b,)  particularly  in  the  fibula,  but  also  in 
the  tibia,  ulna  and  radius.  In  the  fibula  the  concavity  affects  es- 
pecially the  external,  but  also  the  internal,  and  occasionally  both  the 
external  and  internal,  and  even  the  posterior  surfaces;  in  tibia  the 
character  is  observed  on  the  external,  and  in  the  ulna  and  radius 
mainly  on  the  anterior,  flexor,  surface. 

Types  5,  6,  e  and  r,  are  widely  differing  forms  of  the  shaft  of  some 
of  the  long  bones;  all  these  types  have,  nevertheless,  two  features  in 
common,  and  that  is  an  indistinctness  or  complete  absence  of  one  or 
more  of  the  borders  of  the  bone,  with  marked  convexity  of  two  or  all 
the  surfaces. 

Type  5  occurs  occasionally  in  the  tibia  and  frequently  in  the  radius. 
It  is  marked  by  the  convexity  of  the  posterior  tibial  and  external 
radial  surface,  and  by  indistinctness  of  the  internal  and  sometimes  also 
the  external  border  in  the  tibia  and  the  anterior  and  posterior  borders 
in  the  radius.  In  both  bones,  but  particularly  in  the  tibia,  this  type 
of  form  represents  a  deficiency  in  the  differentiation  of  the  bone. 

Type  No.  6  occurs  in  the  tibia,  femur  and  humerus.  The  shaft  is 
plano-convex.  Types  e  (elliptical)  and  r  (round,  cylindrical)  are  found 
in  the  femur. 

The  condition  of  flatness  in  long  bones  occurs  quite  independently 
of  the  shape  otherwise  of  these  shafts.  Flatness  is  not  only  found  in 
the  tibia,  but  also  in  the  fibula  (lateral),  in  the  femur  (antero-posterior 
of  whole  shaft,  and,  independently,  antoro-postcrior  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  shaft,  below  the  minor  trochanter),  and  in  the  humerus 
(lateral).  The  flat  femur  (whole  shaft)  occurs  almost  exclusively  in 
whites  and  independently  of  the  flatness  of  other  long  bones.     It  is  a 


154 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


^S.       "^  / 


^^  V 


fei  N' 


(a 


ANTHROPOMETRY  155 

rare  and  possibl}^  abnormal  condition.  A  flat  tibia  is  often  accom- 
panied by  a  flat  fibula,  and  not  seldom  also  by  a  platymeric  (flat  in 
upper  part)  femur. 

The  scapula  presents  three  main  shapes  or  types,  namely,  the 
triangular  or  wedge-shaped;  the  bi-concave,  with  its  axillary  and 
especially  vertebral  border  concave  (the  "scaphoid"  scapula  of 
Graves) ;  and  the  convex,  with  its  vertebral  border  markedly  convex. 

Causes. — The  shape  of  the  bones  is  influenced  by  heredity,  stage  of 
development,  sex,  muscular  activity,  size  of  body,  and  pathological 
conditions. 

Heredity:  There  are  reasons  to  believe  that  certain  types  of  bones 
run  in  families;  and  essentially  through  differences  in  heredity  there  are 
marked  differences  in  the  relative  frequency  of  occurrence  of  the 
various  types  in  different  races. 

Stage  of  life:  During  fetal  life  and  early  childhood,  the  shapes  of 
bones  are  fewer  in  n>umber,  and  do  not  always  correspond  to  the  shapes 
the  bones  will  eventually  have  in  the  adult.  Differentiation  advances 
with  age  and  the  shape  of  a  bone  is  probably  not  fully  stabilized, 
particularly  as  to  fluting,  before  advanced  adult  life. 

^ex:  The  male  bones  show  on  the  whole  a  greater  differentiation  of 
shapes  than  the  females;  also,  some  types  of  form  are  more  common  in 
one  sex  than  in  the  other.  Most,  if  not  all  these  differences,  may, 
however,  be  due  to  differences  in  muscular  activities. 

Race:  The  modern  cultured  Whites  show  more  variation  in  shape  of 
bones  than  the  Indians,  and  the  Indians  more  than  the  Negro  or 
Negrito.  The  causes  appear  to  be  partly  hereditary  and  partly 
occupational. 

Muscular  activity:  Muscular  peculiarities  and  muscular  activites 
of  the  individual  exercise  a  potent  influence  in  modifying  the  shape  of 
the  bones. 

Size  of  the  body:  The  largest  and  the  smallest  bones  of  any  variety 
show  in  general  less  differentiation  than  the  average;  and  weak  bones 
show  more  uniformity  than  the  stronglj^  developed. 

Pathological:  Very  prolonged  undernourishment  or  vitiated  state 
of  blood  dining  fetal  life  or  childhood  may  undoubtedly  affect  the 
general  development  as  well  as  the  shape  differentiation  of  bones;  but 
no  proof  exists  that  special  pathological  states  are  responsible  for  any 
special  form-types  of  individual  bones. 

The  sum  of  the  observations  points  to  the  fact  that  the  principal 
causes  of  the  various  shapes  of  the  shafts  of  the  long  and  bodies  of 


156 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


other  bones  must  be  sought  for,  first,  in  original  differences  in  the 
attachment  of  the  various  muscles  on  the  shafts;  and  second,  in  an 
unequal  development  and  work  of  the  individual  muscles  during  child- 
hood and  adolescence.  The  original  differences  in  attachment, 
some  of  which  can  be  clearly  seen  on  the  bones,  are  in  all  probability 
partly  hereditary,  partly  early  acquired  conditions.  The  manner 
in  which  the  differentl}^  attached  or  differently  developed  muscles 
affect  the  shape  of  bone  must  of  course  be  largely  if  not  entirely 
mechanical. 

ADDITIONAL    OBSERVATIONS 

In  addition  to  shape,  the  bones  of  the  skeleton  offer  an  array  of 
highly  interesting  points  for  observation,  and  many  of  these,  as 
already  mentioned,  are  of  phylogenetic  importance.  Of  these,  the 
main  ones  will  be  included  in  the  blanks  to  be  given. 


MEASUREMENTS 

Blank:  Humebus 

Tribe Locality Observer . 

Right 


Left 


Cat. 
No. 


Length 
Max. 


Diam. 

Major 

(a) 


Dlam. 

Minor 

(b) 


C-^) 


Observations  ; 


Shape 

of 
Shalti 


Perforation 
of  Septum^ 


Supra- 
condyiar 


Special 


PathO' 
logical 


1  Type  1  =  prismatic;  £,  2a  =  lateral  prismatic  {2  =  posterior  surface  facing 
backward  and  inward;  3a  =  posterior  surface  facing  backward  and  outward);  4  = 
quadrilateral  (anterior  border  broadened  out  to  a  distinct  fourth  surface);  6  = 
plano-convex;  i  =  intermediary'  or  indistinct. 

^  pp  =  pin  point;  sni  =  small;  m.  =  medium;  I  =  large.  When  double  or  multi- 
ple, state  so. 

'  None  ( — );  rough  trace  =  r.  t.;  ridge:  sUght,  medium,  pronounced  (r.  sl-m-pr); 
tubercle:  slight,  or  medium  {lb.  sl-m);  process:  1/3,  1/2,  2/3,  etc.,  complete  {pr.  1/3, 
Jl/2,  2/3,  etc.). 

Notes. — The  length  is  taken  on  the  osteometric  board.  Apply  head 
to  the  vertical,  take  hold  of  bone  by  left  hand,  apply  block  to  distal 
extremity,  and  raising  bone  slightly,  move  up  and  down  as  well 
as  from  side  to  side  until  maximum  length  is  determined. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 


157 


Diameter  major  at  middle. — C.  g.  Determine  mid-point  of  shaft  on 
osteometric  board  and  mark  with  pencil. 

Diameter  minor  at  yniddle. — Apply  fixed  branch  of  sliding  compass  to 
the  antero-lateral  surface  at  middle  and  take  measurement. 


Radius 


Tribe Locality . 

Right 


Observer . 


Left 


Cat. 

No. 


Age 


Length 
Max. 


Shape' 


Anomalies  iPathological        Radio — 

Humeral 

]         Index2 


Note:  Maximum  length  is  taken  in  same  way  as  that  of  the  humerus , 

Ulna 


Tribe Locality . 

Right 


Observer . 


Left 


Cat.  No.  Sex  Age         |      Length     j      Shape^ 

Max. 


Pathological 


Note:  Maximum  length  is  taken  in  same  way  as  that  of  the  humerus. 

'  1  =  prismatic;  2  =  flexor  surface  concave  (fluted);  5  =  external  surface  con- 
vex, borders  indistinct. 

J.  Length  of  Radius  x  100 
Length  of  Humerus 

'  i  =  prismatic,  2  =  flexor  surface  concave  (fluted) ;  4  =  quadrilateral  (posterior) 
surface  divided  into  two,  so  that  the  shaft  presents  four  distinct  surfaces,  borders 
and  angles. 


158 


ALES    HRDLICKA 
Femur 


Tribe Locality 

Right 


Observer . 


Sex 

Age 

Length 
Blcondylar 

Length 

Max. 

Humero- 
femoral 
Index' 

At  Middle: 

Cat. 
No. 

Diam.  Antero- 
posterior 
Maxim. 

Diam. 
Lateral 

Index2 

{Continiied) 


Left 


At  Upper  Flattening: 

Observations: 

Dlam. 
Lateral 
Maxim. 

Dlam. 
Antero- 
posterior 
Minim. 

Index' 

Shape  ol 
Shaft* 

Third 
Condyle^ 

Linea 
Aspera* 

Anomalies 

Patho- 
logical 

Notes:  The  bicondylar  length  of  the  femur  is  taken  by  adjusting  both 
condyles  to  the  vertical  part  of  the  osteometric  board  and  applying 
the  block  to  the  other  extremity. 

The  length  maximum  of  the  femur  is  measured  in  the  same  way  as  the 
maximum  length  of  other  bones  (see  under  Humerus). 

The  antero-posterior  diameter  at  middle  (middle  of  shaft  determined 
and  marked  beforehand)  is  the  diameter  maximum. 

The  lateral  diameter  at  middle  is  taken  so  that  the  linea-aspera 
reposes  on  the  stem  of  the  sliding  compass  midway  between  the  two 
branches  of  the  same  while  these  are  applied  to  the  bone. 

1  Length  of  Humerus  X  100 
Bicondylar  length  of  femur 

2  Diam^at^^OO. 

Diam.  ant  .-post. 

3  Diam.  minium  X  100. 

Diam.  maxim. 

*  Type  1  =  prismatic ;  4  =  quadrilateral  (anterior  surface  divided  by  a  vertical 
ridge  in  two) ;  r  =  cylindrical  (juvenile);  e  =  elliptical;  pc  =  plano-convex. 

6r  =  ridge;  o.  t.  =  oblong  tuberosity;  r.  t.  =  round  tuberosity;  d  =  depression; 
All:  slight,  moderate,  or  pronounced. 

«sl.,  mod.,  pron. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 


159 


In  plano-convex  and  related  femora  the  shaft  is  so  deformed  and  the 
linea-aspera  so  displaced,  that  the  measurement  of  the  diameters  is 
impractical  and  should  be  omitted. 

Circumference  of  the  shaft  at  middle  as  taken  by  some  observers 
and  contrasted  with  the  length  of  the  bone  gives  data  of  some  value  for 
sexual  identification;  but  the  same  may  be  done  with  the  mean  of  the 
two  diameters. 


Tibia 


Tribe Locality . 

.  Right 


Observer . 


Cat. 

Sex 

Age 

Length 

Length 

Tibio-femo- 

No. 

(Less  Spine) 

Maxim.  . 

ral  Indexi 

At  Middle: 


Dlam.  Antero- 
posterior Max. 
(a) 


Diam. 

Lateral 

(6) 


(^) 


{Continued) 


Left 


Observations: 

Pathological: 

Shape* 

Peculiarities 

Curvature 

Exostoses 

Other 

- 

1 

Notes:  To  take  the  ordinary  length  of  the  tibia  introduce  the  spine 
into  the  orifice  provided  for  this  purpose  in  the  vertical  part  of  the 
osteometric  board,  apply  outer  parts  of  the  condyles  to  the  vertical 
outside  of  the  orifice,  let  body  of  the  bone  repose  on  the  horizontal 
part  of  the  board,  and  apply  block  to  the  most  distant  point  (mal- 
leolus). 

'         T  X  100 


Bicond.  I.  of  femur 
'Typo    1  =  prismatic;    2  =  lateral    prismatic;    3  =  external    surface    concave 
(fluted);  4  =  posterior  surface  divided  in  two;  6  =  posterior  surface  convex,  in- 
ternal border  indistinct;  6  =  plano-convex  (gorilloid). 


160 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


It  is  also  useful  to  take  the  maximum  length  of  the  tibia.  This 
is  secured  by  placing  the  spine  within  the  orifice  as  with  the  previous 
measurement,  applying  the  most  prominent  point  of  the  condyles  to 
the  vertical,  taking  hold  of  the  body  by  the  left  hand  and  moving  the 
bone  from  side  to  side  as  well  as  slightly  upward  and  downward,  while 
holding  the  block  applied  to  the  malleolus,  until  the  maximum  length 
is  determined. 

Fibula 

Tribe Locality .  . '. Observer 

Right  Left 


Cat.  No. 


Age 


Length 
Max. 


Shape' 


Pathological 


Scapula 


Tribe Locality 

Right 


Observer . 


Cat. 
No. 


Age 


Height  Total 
(a) 


Height  Infra- 

splnous 

(6) 


Breadth 


Index:'' 
Total 


Index: 
Inferior' 


Type* 


Notes:  The  total  height  of  the  scapula  is  obtained  by  measuring  in 
a  straight  line  the  distance  from  the  superior  to  the  inferior  angle. 

1 1  =  Ordinary  quadrilateral,  approaching  prismatic;  anterior  surface  nearly 
absent  to  moderate;  posterior  surface  facing  directly  backward  or  nearly  so.  2  = 
Lateral  prismatic;  posterior  surface  facing  backward  and  inward;  medial  surface 
much  less  in  area  than  lateral;  anterior  surface  narrow  to  broad.  2a  =  relation 
between  medial  and  lateral  surface  reversed,  the  latter  being  the  narrower.  3  = 
medial  surface  fluted;  4  =  lateral  surface  differentiated  into  two  surfaces;  6  = 
lateral  surface  fluted;  6  =  both  medial  and  lateral  surfaces  fluted;  9  =  all  three 
surfaces  deeply  fluted. 

' c  X  100 
a 

' c  X  100 


•I  Type:   1  =  triangular;   3  =  biconcave    ("scaphoid"),    axiUary   and    vertebral 
borders  concave;  6  =  convex,  vertebral  border  convex. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 

Scapula 


161 


(Continued) 

Left 

Observations: 

Sbape  of  Su- 
perior Border! 

Notch2 

Vertebral 
Border* 

Axillary 
Border* 

Anomalies 

Fatbological 

^ 

The  infra-spinous  height  is  the  height  from  the  inferior  angle  to 
a  point  at  which  the  spine  transects  the  vertebral  border  of  the  bone. 
To  determine  this  point  hold  scapula  in  left  hand  with  dorsal  surface 
up  in  such  a  way  that  the  eye  can  follow  the  prolongation  of  the  spine 
to  the  axillary  border.  Mark  the  mid  point  of  the  juncture  of  the 
spine  with  the  border  (and  not  the  lower  or  upper  limit). 

The  breadth  of  the  scapula  (c)  is  the  diameter  from  the  middle  of  the 
outer  (dorsal)  border  of  the  glenoid  cavity  to  the  point  where  the  spine 
intersects  the  vertebral  border.  (Broca,  P.  — Sur  les  indices  de  lon- 
gueur de  I'omoplate  chez  I'homme,  les  singes  et  dans  la  serie  des 
mammiferes.     Bull.  Soc.  d'Anthrop.,  1878,  Ser.  3,  I,  66.)^ 


Sternum' 


Tribe Locality . 


Observer . 


Cat. 

Sex  Age 

Total 

Length 

No 

Length 

of  Man- 

(Less 

ubrium 

Xiphoid) 

(«) 

(m) 

Manubrial 
Index 
100  \ 


/mxi 


Maxl-  j  Number 


mum 
Thick- 
ness of 

Body 


of  Rib 
Facets 


Anoma- 
lies 


Re- 
marks 


1 1  =  horizontal,  at  right  angle,  or  near,  with  coracoid;  3  =  moderate  obliquity 
upwards,  angle  5.5-80;  3  =  pronounced  obliquity,  angle  near  45;  4  =  semiquadrate; 
6  =  semicircular;  6  =  wavy. 

2 1  =  none;  2  =  slight;  3  =  moderate;  4  =  nearly  a  foramen;  5  =  foramen. 

'1  =  straight;  2  =  concave;  3  =  convex:  sUghtly — moderately — pronouncedly. 

*  1   =  straight;  2  =  teres  process  slight;  3  =  moderate;  4  =  pronounced. 

'  Were  it  not  for  the  amount  of  work  done  with  this  breadth,  it  would  be  i)referable 
to  take  that  from  the  slight  depression  or  roughness  in  the  middle  of  the  glenoid 
fossa  to  the  spine-point,  for  the  borders  of  the  fossa  are  liable  to  some  irregularities  of 
development,  besides  which  the  mid-glenoid  point  is  the  more  .suitable  in  measure- 
ments of  scapula;  of  various  animals. 

«  Consult :  Anthony  (R.) — Notes  sur  la  morphogenie  du  Sternum  chez  mammiferes. 


162 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


Notes:  The  length  of  the  sternum  as  well  as  that  of  the  manubrium 
is  best  measured  on  the  osteometric  board;  the  breadth  and  thickness 
of  the  bone  are  measured  with  the  sliding  compass.  The  thickness 
of  the  body  should  be  measured  between  the  facets  for  the  ribs. 

Among  the  anomalies  are  to  be  observed  especially  the  foramen  or 
defect  in  the  lower  part  of  the  bone,  and  the  occurence  of  episternals. 

The  relative  proportions  of  the  manubrium  and  body  of  the  sternum 
show  sexual  as  well  as  group  differences;  and  the  same  may  be  said  in 
regard  to  the  fusion  of  the  manubrium  with  the  body  of  the  bone. 


Clavicles' 


Tribe Locality . 

Right 


Observer . 


Left 


Cat. 
No. 


Age  Length 

Maximum 


Conoid 
Tuberosity 


Strength^ 


Curvature' 


Notes:  The  length  of  the  clavicle  is  best  determined  on  the  osteometric 
board,  but  may  also  be  measured  by  the  small  or  the  large  sliding 
compass. 

The  comparison  of  the  length  of  the  clavicle  with  the  length  of 
the  humerus  (claviculo-humeral  index)  is  useful  as  an  indication  of  the 
relative  development  of  the  thorax. 

The  acromial  extremity  may  in  rare  cases  be  separated;  a  few  other 
anomalies  may  also  occur. 

Bull.  Soc.  d'Anthrop.  Paris,  1901,  II,  19^3.  Dwight  (Thos.)— The  Sternum  as 
an  index  of  sex,  height  and  age.  J.  Anat.  &  Physiol.,  1890,  XXIV,  527-535.  Krause 
(W.) — Ueber  das  weibUche  Sternum.  Intern.  Monatsschr.  f.  Anat.  &  Physiol., 
1897,  XIV,  21-32.  Parker  (W.  J.)— Structure  and  development  of  the  Shoulder 
Girdle  and  Sternum  in  the  Vertebrates.  Roy.  Soc.  Publ.,  Lond.,  1868.  Paterson 
(A.  M.) — The  human  sternum.  Liverpool,  1904;  also  Brit.  Med.  J.,  1902,  II;  and 
J.  Anat.  &  Physiol,  1900,  XXXV,  Pt.  1. 

1  Consult  Pasteau  (E.) — Recherches  sur  les  proportions  de  la  Clavicule.  These 
mid.,  Paris,  1879;  also  Parsons  (F.  G.) — 'On  the  proportions  and  characteristics  of 
the  modern  English  Claricle.     J.  Anat.,  Lond.,  1916,  LI,  71-93. 

2  SI  =  slender;  m  =  medium;  str  =  strong;  ynas  =  massive. 
'  SI  =  slight;  m  =  medium;  pron  =  pronounced. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 
RiBSi 


Tribe Locality . 


Observer . 


163 


Cat. 
No. 


Age 


Number  Present 


Anomalies 


Fractures  and 
Pathological 


Ist  Rib 
Shape.- 


Notes:  In  skeletal  material  obtained  from  older  graves  the  ribs  are 
seldom  all  present  and  in  good  condition;  nevertheless  their  examina- 
tion should  not  be  neglected.  Cervical,  supernumerary,  bifid,  bici- 
pital and  fused  ribs  are  of  special  interest;  and  other  anomalies  may 
occur. 

The  first  rib  deserves  special  attention,  particularly  as  to  its  shape. 
The  development  of  the  scalene  tubercle  may  also  be  noted  on  the 
first  rib. 


Spine' 


Tribe Locality. 


Observer . 


Cat   Sex. 
No. 


Age 


Atlas: 


A  noma-    Re- 
lies      marks 


Other  Cervical: 


Num-  Anoma- 
ber   I     lies 


Re- 
marks 


Num- 
ber 


Anoma- 
lies 


Re- 
marks 


Num- 
ber 


A  noma-     Re- 
lies       marks 


»  Bardeen  (Ch.  R.) — Costo-vertebral  variation  in  Man.  Anat.  Am.,  1900,  XVIII, 
377-382.  Hrdlicka  (Ale§) — Contribution  to  the  Osteology  of  Ribs,  Proc.  Ass.  Am. 
Anat.,  XIV  Sess.,  Wash.,  1901,  61-68.  Tredgold  (A.  F.)— Variations  of  Ribs  in  the 
Primates  with  especial  reference  to  the  number  of  sternal  Ribs  in  Man.  J.  Atiat. 
&  Physiol,  1897,  XXXI,  288-302. 

^1  =  curved  (semilunar);  2  =  monoangular  or  pistol-shaped  (nearly  straight 
neck,  with  nearly  straight  body);  3  =  biangular  (distinct  angle  in  body,  besides 
that  between  neck  and  body). 

'Consult:  Anderson  (R.  J.) — Observations  on  the  diameters  of  human  vertebrae 
in  different  regions.  J.  Anat.  &  Physiol.,  London,  1883,  XVII,  341-4.  Bardeen 
(Chas.  R.) — Numerical  Vertebral  Variation  in  the  Human  Adult  and  Embryo; 
Anat.  Anz.,  1904,  XXV,  497-.519.  Cunningham  (D.  J.) — Lumbar  Curve  in  Man  and 
the  Apes.  Dublin,  1886.  Dubreuil-Chambardel  (L.) — ^^ariations  sexuelles  de 
1' Atlas.     Bull.  &  Mem.  d'Ardhrop.,  Paris,  1907,  VIII,  399^04.     Dwight  (Thomas)— 


164 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


Notes:  Various  measurements  and  many  detailed  observations  are 
possible  on  the  spine  and  its  different  constituents.  As  to  measure- 
ments, the  most  interesting  are  the  relative  lengths  of  the  cervical, 
dorsal  and  lumbar  parts  of  the  spine  compared  with  the  total  length 
of  the  three.  The  length  of  these  parts  is  best  taken  by  the  small  and 
large  sliding  compasses,  between  the  mid  points  anteriorly  of  the 
upper  and  lower  border  of  the  body  of  the  first  and  last  vertebra  of 
each  segment,  with  the  bones  held  in  a  close  and  natural  apposition. 

The  atlas  should  receive  special  attention,  for  it  is  subject  to  many 
independent  variations,  particularly  in  respect  to  blood  vessel  foramina 
and  canals. 

The  lowest  part  of  the  dorsal  and  the  uppermost  as  well  as  lower- 
most parts  of  the  lumbar  segment,  are  also  of  special  interest,  the 
former  on  account  of  occasional  numerical  variation,  the  latter  on 
account  of  occasional  separation  of  neural  arch,  a  presence  of  a  sacral 
element  with  more  or  less  assimilation,  etc. 

The  minor  anomalies  of  the  spine  and  its  constituents  should  be 
reserved  for  special  study. 


Tribe . 


Sacrum,  Pelvic  Bones,  Pelvis 
.     Locality Observer . 


Sex 

Age 

Sacrum : 

Cat. 
No. 

Height 
Maxim. > 

Breadth 
Maxim. 

Sacral 
Index2 

Number  of 
Segments 

Curva- 
ture' 

Curvature  i  Special 
Begins  at*  | 

Description  of  the  Human  Spines  showing  numerical  variation.  Mem.  Boston  Soc. 
Nat.  Hist.,  1901,  237-312,  also,  Anat.  Anz.,  1901,  XIX,  332,  337-347;  and  Anat. 
Am.,  1906,  XXVIII,  33-40,  96-102.  HrdUcka  (Ale§)— The  atlas  of  Monte  Hermoso. 
In  Bull.  62,  Bur.  Am.  Elhnol.,  Wash.  1912,  364-9.  Papillault  (G.)— Variations 
numeriques  des  vertfibres  lombaires  chez  I'homme.  Bull.  Soc.  d'Anihrop.,  Paris, 
1898,  IX,  198-222.  Ranke  (J.)— Zur  Anthropologie  der  Halswirbelsaule.  Sitz. 
math.  phys.  CI.  bayer.  Akad.  Wiss.,  1895,  XXV,  1-23.  Ravenel  (M.)— Die  Maas- 
verhaltnisse  der  Wirbelsaule  and  des  Riickenmarkes  beim  Menschen.  Dwang. 
Dissert.,  Leipzig,  1877,  1-27.  Regaha  (C.  E.) — Sulla  causa  generale  delle  anomalie 
numeriche  del  rachide.  Arch.  p.  Antrop.  &  Etn.,  189.5,  XXV,  149-219.  Rosenberg 
(E.) — Ueber  die  Entwicklung  der  Wirbelsaule.  Gegenbaur's  Morphol.  Jahrb., 
Leipzig,  1875, 1,  1-111.  Soularue  (G.  Martial) — Etude  des  proportions  de  la  colonne 
vertebrale  chez  I'homme  et  chez  la  femme.  Bull.  Soc.  d'Anihrop.  Paris,  1900, 
S6r.  5, 1,  132-147.  Zoja  (G.)— Sulle  variety,  dell'atlante.  Bol.  sci.,  1881,  Nos.  1  &  2, 
repr.  24  pp.,  Also  C.  R.  R.  1st.  Lomb.,  CI.  Sc.  mat.  &  nat.,  1881,  XIV,  269-296. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 


165 


Sacrum,  Pelvic  Bones,  Pelvis 


(Continued) 

. 

Ossa  Innominata: 

Pelvis: 

Height  Maxim.  |  Breadth  Maxim. 

Mean  |  Special 
Index^    Features 

Breadth     Total    Superior 

Maxim.*    Index'      Strait: 

Breadth 

1  Maxim. 

Diameter 
Antero- 
posterior 
Maxim.  8 

Pelvic 
Index 

Re- 

Right 

Left 

Right 

Left 

marks 

Notes:  In  measuring  the  height  of  the  sacrum  use  sliding  compass, 
and  apply  points  of  instrument  to  middle  of  promontor}^  and  middle  of 
anterior-inferior  border  of  the  fifth  sacral  -vertebra.  For  general 
comparative  purposes  measure  onlj^  sacra  with  five  segments. 

In  measuring  breadth  apply  stem  of  compass  to  the  upper  surface  of 
the  body  "of  the  first  sacral  vertebra  and  measure  the  greatest  expanse 
of  the  lateral  masses  of  the  bone. 

The  height  of  the  ossa  innominata  is  best  measured  on  the  osteo- 
metric  board.  Apply  ischium  to  the  vertical  part  of  the  board, 
hold  bone  with  left  hand,  apply  block  to  iliac  border  with  right  hand 
and  move  bone  up  and  down  and  from  side  to  side  until  maximum 
measurement  is  obtained. 

The  breadth  of  the  ossa  innominata  is  best  measured  by  the  sliding 
compass.  It  is  the  distance  between  the  anterior  and  posterior 
superior  spines. 

For  measuring  the  pelvis  as  a  whole  articulate  the  bones,  hold  with 
both  hands,  invert,  and  secure  breadth  maximum  of  ilia  on  the  osteo- 

» Long  branch  of  sliding  compass  appb'ed  ventrally,  in  median  line,  to  anterior 
border  of  lower  end  and  to  promontory. 

*  Breadth  x  100  . 

Height 
'Slight,  moderate,  pronounced. 

*  Name  segment  (from  above). 
^  Mean  breadth  x  100 

mean  height 
•Pelvis  held  together  with  bones  in  natural  position;  the  bread  this  the  bi-iliac 
maximum,  and  can  be  taken  handily  on  the  osteometic  board,  or  by  a  second  person 
with  the  large  sliding  compass. 

^ Breadth  X^100_ 

mean  height  of  ossa  innominata 

*  From  promontory  of  the  sacrum  to  the  nearest  point  on  the  ventral  border  of 
the  pubic  bones. 


166 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


metric  board.  With  the  help  of  a  pelviphore  (such  as  that  of  Emmons) 
the  taking  of  this  measurement  and  of  those  of  the  brim  becomes  a 
simple  matter. 

To  measure  the  diameters  of  the  superior  strait  or  brim  of  the  pelvis 
without  a  pelviphore,  hold  pelvis  in  left  hand,  and  use  small  sliding  com- 
pass. The  antero-posterior  diameter  is  that  between  the  mid  point 
on  the  promontor}^  of  the  sacrum  and  the  nearest  point  on  the  ventral 
borders  of  the  pubic  articulation.  The  lateral  diameter  is  the  maxi- 
mum transverse  diameter  of  the  brim. 

A  natural  slight  separation  of  the  pubic  bones  should  be  retained 
during  all  measurements. 

Short  Bones 


Patella.^ 


Tribe Locality . 

Right 


Observer . 


Left 


Cat. 
No. 


Age 


Height  Breadth 
Maxim.!  Maxim. 


Thickness 
Maxim. 


Breadth-Height 

Index 

(SX  100) 


Patellar  Mod- 
ule 
(H+B+T) 


Vastus 
Notch^ 


Notes:  All  the  measurements  to  be  taken  with  the  small  sliding 
compass.  In  measuring  the  height  and  breadth  of  the  bone,  move  the 
latter  slightly  from  side  to  side  between  the  branches  of  the  compass 
until  the  maximum  measurement  is  determined.  The  height  is  taken 
by  applying  the  fixed  branch  to  the  anterior  surface  of  the  bone  and 
bringing  the  movable  branch  posteriorly  over  its  thickest  parts. 

The  vastus  notch  shows  interesting  variations. 

'Consult:  Corner  (E.  M.) — Varieties  and  structure  of  the  Patella  of  Man.  J. 
Anal.  &  Physiol.,  1900,  XXXIV,  XXVIl-XXVlII;  also  Ten  Kate  (H.)— Rotule. 
Rev.  Mus.  La  Plata,  1896,  VII,  12-16;  and  Bull.  62,  Bur.  Amer.  Elhnol.,  Wash.  1916. 

2  —  none;  si  =  sUght;  m  =  moderate;  1   =  large. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 


167 


Calcaxeusi 


Tribe Localit}' 

Right 


Observer . 


Left 


Cat. 
No. 


Sex  Age  5  g  S  a 

'  c  2    =*  c  t 


g^i  Mi; 


Breadth-    i    Breadth-         Height-  Module         Articular 

Length  Height  Length      '  (L  +  B  ->-  H)    Facets  for  [    ^ 

Index  Index  I       Index  5  Astragalus 

(B  X  100)       (J5  X  IPC)  ;   (.H  X  100)   ' 
H 


m 

'      cS 

F 

a 

o 

rt 

< 

Notes:  All  measurements  to  be  taken  with  the  small  sliding  compass. 
The  taking  of  the  maximum  length  will  be  self-evident.  To  secure 
the  breadth,  the  branches  of  the  compass  should  be  applied  to  the 
sides  of  the  bone  in  the  region  of  the  minimum  thickness  of  its  body. 
The  most  practicable  height  of  the  calcaneus  is  obtained  by  moving 
the  bone  from  side  to  side  between  the  branches  of  the  compass,  which 
are  applied  to  what  is  seen  to  be  the  greatest  constriction  of  the  body 
(approximately  its  middle). 

As  to  visual  observations  on  the  Os  calcis,  the  greatest  interest 
attaches  probably  to  the  number  and  conformation  of  the  articular 
facets  for  the  astragalus.  These  facets  may  be  two  in  number,  an- 
terior and  posterior.  But  the  anterior  facet  may  be  divided  into  two 
by  a  ridge;  or  it  may  be  replaced  by  two  facets,  anterior  and  median, 
completely  separated  by  a  narrow  to  moderately  broad  groove  or 
space;  or,  finally,  in  place  of  the  single  oblong  anterior  facet  there 
may  be  a  small  to  rudimentary  anterior  and  a  medium-sized  median 
facet,  separated  by  a  broad  and  deep  notch. 

An  additional  point  of  some  interest  is  the  development  of  the 
peroneal  spine. 

>  See  BvU.  62,  Bur.  Amer.  Ethnol.,  Wash.,  1916. 


168 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


Astragalus! 


Tribe Locality . 

Right 


Observer . 


Left 


Cat. 
No. 


Age 


Length 
Maxim. 


Breadth 

Maxim. 


Height 

Maxim. 


Breadth- 
Length 
Index 
(BX  100) 


Height- 
Length 
Index 
(i/X  ICO) 
L 


Module 
(L+B  +  H) 


Facets  for 
Calcaneus* 


Notes:  For  length  maximum,  apply  stem  of  sliding  compass  to 
lowest  (most  prominent)  parts  of  the  medial  surface  on  the  bone. 

The  maximum  breadth  is  taken  by  applying  the  fixed  branch  of  the 
sliding  compass  to  the  lowest  (most  prominent)  parts  on  the  medial 
surface  of  the  bone. 

The  maximum  height  of  the  astragalus  is  best  taken  on  the  osteo- 
metric  plane,  on  which  the  bone  is  placed  so  that  all  the  three  lowest 
points  of  its  inferior  surface  touch  the  vertical  part,  while  the  block  is 
applied  to  the  most  prominent  part  of  the  bone  from  the  opposite 
direction. 

A  comparative  study  of  the  calcaneus  facets  on  the  talus  with  the 
corresponding  facets  on  the  latter  bone,  is  of  considerable  interest,  and 
shows  some  racial  variations. 

Scaphoid' 

Tribe Locality Observer 

Right  Left 


Cat. 
No. 


Age  Breadth    Height 
Maxim.  Maxim. 


Stout- 
ness 
Maxim, 


Height- 
Breadth 

Index 

(//X  100) 

B 


Stoutness- 
Breadth 

Index 
(•S'X  100) 


Facet 

for 

Cuboid* 


Facet 

Tuber- 

Addi- 

for 

osity* 

tional 

Talus, 

Forms 

>  See  Bull.  62,  Bur.  Am.  Ethnol,  Wash.,  1916. 

^  1  =  one  facet  not  divided  by  any  ridge;  2  =  one  facet  divided  into  two  by  a 
ridge;  S  =  two  distinct  facets,  but  slightly  connected  or  completely  apart. 
'  See  Bull.  62,  Bur.  Am.  Ethnol.,  Wash.,  1916. 
*  Present  or  absent. 

"  Vf  =  pyriform;  q  =  quadrilateral;  i  =  intermediary  or  indefinite. 
« p  =  pointed;  hi  =  blunt  (markedly);  sq  =  squarish. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 


169 


Notes:  The  maximum  breadth  of  the  bone  is  taken  by  the  small 
sliding  compass  and  is  measured  from  the  extremit}^  of  the  tuberosity 
ad  maximum. 

To  take  the  maximum  height  of  the  bone  use  the  large  sliding  com- 
pass with  broad  branches;  hold  instrument  vertically,  lay  bone  on 
movable  branch  on  its  talus  facet,  raise  the  branch  until  the  bone 
touches  the  under  surface  of  the  fixed  branch  and  read  measurement. 

To  measure  the  stoutness  use  same  instrument  as  for  height.  Lay 
bone  on  the  movable  branch  of  the  compass  on  its  dorsal  or  superior 
surface,  let  it  assume  a  natural  position,  and  raise  the  branch  until 
the  most  prominent  part  of  the  plantar  surface  of  the  bone  touches 
the  under  surface  of  the  fixed  branch. 


CUBOIDI 


Tribe Locality . 

Right 


Observer . 


Left 


Cat 

No. 


Age 


Length 
Maxim. 


Breadth 
Maxim 


Thick- 
ness 
Maxim. 


Breadth- 
Length 
Index 

(5X100) 
L 


Thickness- 
Length 
Index 

(rxioo) 


Module 
(L+B+T) 


for 
Cunel- 
lorm- 


for 
Talus' 


Addi- 
tional 


Notes:  The  maximum  length  of  the  bone  is  measured  with  the  small 
sliding  compass,  between  the  most  prominent  point  on  the  superior 
and  inferior  borders  of  the  distal  or  metatarsal  facet  of  the  bone  and 
the  point  at  the  inferior  medial  angle  (calcanean  process). 

The  maximum  breadth  is  obtained  with  the  cuboid  resting  on  its 
medial  surface  in  such  a  position  as  it  naturally  assumes.  This  and 
the  next  measurement  are  best  taken  by  the  large  sliding  compass 
with  broad  branches. 

The  maximum  thickness  is  taken  with  the  cuboid  resting  on  its 
anterior  surface  in  such  position  as  it  naturally  assumes. 

'See  Bull.  62,  Bur.  Am.  Elhnol.,  Wash.,  1916. 

's  =  single;  r  =  divided  in  two  by  a  well  marked  ridge;  3  =  double  (connected 
or  not). 

'  Present  or  absent. 


170 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


Internal  Cuneiformi 

Tribe Locality Observer . 

Right 


Left 


Cat. 
No. 


Height 
Maxim. 


Breadth 

Minim. 


Breadth-Height    Metatarsal 


Index 

(B  X  100) 

H 


Facet* 


Note:  Measurements  taken  with  sliding  compass.  Height  maxi- 
mum is  secured  by  applying  the  fixed  branch  of  the  compass  to  the 
most  prominent  parts  of  the  inferior  surface  of  the  bone  and  bringing 
the  other  branch  into  apposition. 

The  minimum  breadth,  in  the  middle  of  the  bone,  is  obtained  by 
applying  the  fixed  branch  of  the  compass  so  that  it  rests  on  both  lips 
of  the  scaphoid  facet,  and  bringing  the  other  branch  into  apposition 
with  the  bone.     It  is  the  only  practicable  breadth  in  all  specimens. 

External  cuneiform:  Note  frequency  of  absence  of  facet  for  fourth 
metatarsal,  also  for  second  metatarsal. 

Middle  Cuneiform:  Note  character  of  central  ligamentous  depression 
and  canal  running  downward  from  this. 


Bones  of  the  Hand' 

Tribe Locality .  •. Observer . 

Right 


Left 


Cat. 
No. 


Bones  of  Carpus: 


Number    Obser- 
I  vatlons 


Metacarpals: 


Re- 
marks 


Length 
Max.  of 
1st  Meta- 
carpal 


Metacarpo- 

Humeral 

Index* 


Phalanges: 


Number       Re- 
I   marks 


1  See  Bull.  62,  Bur.  Am.  Ethnol,  Wash.,  1916. 

2  Single  or  double. 

3  See  Bull.  62,  Bur.  Am.  Ethnol,  Wash.,  1916. 
*  Max.  length  of  1st  metacarpel  X  100  . 

Max.  length  of  humerus 


ANTHROPOMETRY 


171 


Tribe . 


Bones  of  the  Footi 
Locality Observer . 


Right 


Left 


Cat. 
No. 


Sex   1  Age 


Metatarsals: 


Number   Obser-  i 

i  vations  i 


1st  Metatarsal: 


Length    Pollux-Hal-    Hallux  Fe- 
I  Maxim,     lux  Index^     mur  Index' 


Re- 
marks 


Phlanges: 


Num- 
ber 


Re- 
marks 


ESTIMATION    OF    STATURE    FROM    PARTS    OF    THE    SKELETON* 

The  International  Agreement  of  Geneva  stipulates  that:  "For  the 
reconstruction  of  the  stature  with  the  aid  of  the  long  bones,  the  maxi- 
mum length  shall  be  measured  in  all"  cases  save  in  those  of  the  femur 
which  is  to  be  measured  in  the  oblique  position,  and  the  tibia  which 
is  also  be  to  measured  in  the  oblique  position,  the  spine  being  excluded." 

Under  these  conditions  and  until  something  more  serviceable 
may  be  provided,  the  student  is  advised  to  use  Manouvrier's  tables, 
which  are  here  reproduced.  These  tables  apply  only  to  bones  of 
adults;  and  a  proper  sexual  identification  is  in  each  case  of  the  greatest 
importance.  All  the  long  bones  present  should  be  measured  and  the 
mean  length  of  each  pair  used  for  the  approximations  in  the  table, 
the  mean  of  the  total  of  approximations  giving  the  stature. 

1  See  Bull.  62,  Bur,  Am.  Ethnol,  Wash.  1916. 

*  Max.  length  of  1st  metacarpal  x  100 

Max.  length  of  1st  metatarsal 
'  Max.  length  of  1st  metarsal  X  100  _ 
Bicondylar  length  of  femur 

*  Dwight  (Thos.) — Methods  of  estimating  the  height  from  parts  of  the  skeleton. 
Med.  Rec,  Sept.  8,  1894.  (Gives  data  for  estimating  stature  also  from  length  of 
sternum  and  that  of  the  spine.)  Manouvrier  (L.) — D6termination  do  la  taillc  d'apres 
les  OS  longs.  Rev.  Ec.  d'Anthrop.  Paris,  1892,  II,  227. — La  determination  de  la  taille 
d'apros  les  grands  os  des  membres.  Mem.  Soc.  d'Anthrop.,  Paris,  1S93,  S6r.  2,  IV, 
347-411.  Pearson  (K.) — On  the  reconstruction  of  the  stature  of  prehistoric  races. 
Philos.  Trans.  R.  Soc,  London,  1899  (Mathematical);  CXCII,  Ser.  A,  169-244. 
RoUet  (E.) — La  mensuration  des  os  longs  des  membres.  These  mM.,  Lyon,  1899 
(Similar  to  Manouvrier).  Topinard  (P.) — De  la  restitutiini  de  la  taille  par  les  os 
longs.  Rev.  d'Anthrop.,  Paris,  1885,  VIII,  134. — Proc6d6  des  mensuration  des  os 
longs  dans  le  but  de  reconstitues  la  taille.  Bull.  Soc.  d'Anthrop.,  Paris,  1885,  VIII, 
73-83.  Also  EUments  d'Anthropnlogie  generate  (used  maximum  lengths  throughout). 
Older  data  unreliable  and  lack  precision  of  methods. 


172 


ALES    HRDLICKA 


The  final  estimate  will  be  the  more  reliable  the  larger  the  series 
of  subjects  involved.  In  single  individuals  the  error,  as  Dwight  has 
shown,  may  be  very  considerable^  particularly  in  tall  males  (1  up  to 
11.9  cm.).i 


Percentage  of  Stature 


17.7 

18.1  to 
18.5 

18.6  to 
19 

19.1  to 
19.5 

19.6  to 
20 

20.1  to 
20.5 

2C.6  to 
21 

21.1  to 

Percent  of  Bones 

Males 

Females 

1.4 

11.7         24.3 
12.2         20.7 

27.1 
31.7 

21.6 
18.3 

9 

9.8 

3.7 
7.3 

1.1 

Manouvrier's  Tables  Showing  the  Correspondence  of  Bone  Lengths  among 
Themselves  and  with  Stature 


Males 

Humerus 

Radius 

Ulna 

stature 

Femur 

Tibia 

Fibula 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

295 

213 

227 

1,530 

392 

319 

318 

298 

216 

231 

1,552 

398 

324 

323 

302 

219 

235 

1,571 

404 

330 

328 

306 

222 

239 

1,590 

410 

335 

333 

309 

225 

243' 

1,605 

416 

340 

338 

313 

229 

246 

1,625 

422 

346 

344 

316 

232 

249 

1,634 

428 

351 

349 

320 

236 

253 

1,644 

434 

357 

353 

324 

239 

257 

1,654 

440 

362 

358 

328 

243 

260 

1,666 

446 

368 

363 

332 

246 

263 

1,677 

453 

373 

368 

336 

249 

266 

1,686 

460 

378 

373 

340 

252 

270 

1,697 

467 

383 

378 

344 

255 

273 

1,716 

475 

389 

383 

348 

258 

276 

1,730 

482 

394 

388 

352 

261 

280 

1,754 

490 

400 

393 

356 

264 

283 

1,767 

497 

405 

398 

360 

267 

287 

1,785 

504 

410 

403 

364 

270 

290 

1,812 

512 

415 

408 

368 

273 

293 

1,830 

519 

420 

413 

Mean  Coefficients  for  bones  shorter  than  those  show 

'n  in  the  Ta 

ble:. 

5.25        i       7.11       1       6.66       |       |       3.92 

4.80 

4.82 

Mean  Coefficients  for  bones  longer  than  those  show 

n  in  the  Tal 

)le: 

4.93        1       6.70       1       6.26       |       |       3.53 

4.32 

4.37 

To  determine  from  this  table  the  stature  of  the  living,  add  2  mm.  to  each  length; 
take  the  mean  of  the  resulting  statures,  and  subtract  2  mm.  from  the  final  height 
thus  obtained. 2 

>  The  author  obtained  the  following  correspondences  between  the  humerus  and 
stature  in  3.54  male  and  82  female  dissecting  room  individuals.  Whites,  22-25  years 
of  age,  and  where  both  humeri  could  be  measured. 

« Dwight  found  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  errors  with  the  Manouvrier  tables 
was  due  to  this  subtraction,  and  advocates  that  this  recommendation  be  not  followed. 
It  should  be  stated  by  the  author  whether  it  was  or  was  not  followed. 


ANTHROPOMETRY 


173 


Manoitvrier's  Tables  Showing  the  Correspondence  of  Bone  Lengths  among 
Themselves  and  with  Stature — Continued 


Humerus 

Radius 

Ulna 

stature 

Femur 

Tibia 

Fibula 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

cm. 

263 

193 

203 

1,400 

363 

284 

283 

266 

195 

206 

1,420 

368 

289 

288 

270 

197 

209 

1,440 

373 

294 

293 

273 

199 

212 

1,455 

378 

299 

298 

276 

201 

215 

1,470 

383 

304 

303 

279 

203 

217 

1,488 

388 

309 

307 

282 

205 

219 

1,497 

393 

314 

311 

285 

207 

222 

1,513 

398 

319 

316 

289 

209 

225 

1,528 

403 

324 

320 

292 

211 

228  , 

1,543 

408 

329 

325 

297 

214 

231 

1,556 

415 

334 

330 

302 

218 

235 

1,568 

422 

340 

336 

307 

222  . 

239 

1,582 

429. 

346 

341 

313 

226 

243 

1,695  • 

436 

352 

346 

318 

230 

247 

1,612 

443 

358 

351 

324 

234 

251 

1,630 

450 

.364 

356 

329 

238 

254 

1,650 

457 

370 

361 

334 

242 

258 

1,670 

46.4 

376 

366 

339 

246 

261 

1,692 

471 

382 

371 

344 

250 

264 

1,715 

478 

388 

376 

Mean  Coefficients  for  bones  shorter  than  those  shown  in  the  Table: 

5.41         I       7.44       I        7.00       |       |       3.87       |       4.85       |       4.88 

Mean  Coefficients  for  bones  longer  than  those  shown  in  the  Table: 
4.98        I       7.00       I       6.49       |       |       3.58       |       4.42       |       4.52 


SPECIAL  COMMUNICATIONS  AND  REPORTS 

THE   MORTALITY  STATISTICS   OF   INSURED   WAGE- 
EARNERS   AND   THEIR   FAMILIES 

LOUIS  I.  DUBLIN,  Ph.D.,  Statistician,  wdth   the  collaboration  of   EDWIN  W, 

KOPF,  Assistant  Statistician,  and  GEORGE  H.  VAN  BUREN, 

Super\'isor,  Statistical  Bureau 

L    DATA    ON    THE    RACE    AND    SEX    RATIO    OF    MORTALITY    AMONG 
WAGE-EARNERS 

Students  of  anthropology  will  be  interested  in  the  above  mentioned 
work,  a  recent  publication  on  the  mortality  statistics  of  a  group  of 
more  than  ten  million  wage-earners  dispersed  over  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  From  these  data,  it  will  be  possible  to  make  deeper 
inquiries  than  have  been  possible  from  data  hitherto  available,  into 
the  influence  of  urban  working-class  environment  upon  mortality 
at  the  various  divisional  periods  of  life,  and  comparatively  for  the 
sexes;  and  on  the  relative  mortality  of  the  negro  and  Caucasian  groups 
of  the  wage-working  population.  The  authors  have  throughout  the 
work  distinguished  the  white  and  colored  races,  according  to  sex, 
in  all  of  the  tables,  whether  relating  to  the  total  mortality  or  to  the 
important  diseases.  They  have  also  shown  comparisons  of  the  data 
for  white  wage-earners,  by  sex,  with  those  of  the  population  of  the 
Registration  Area  in  the  United  States. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  until  this  volume  was  issued  there  had  been 
accessible  no  such  display  of  detailed  public  health  statistics  relating 
specifically  to  wage-earners  and  to  members  of  their  families.  The 
published  statistics  of  mortality  issued  by  the  municipal,  state  and 
federal  offices,  cover  the  entire  population  and  give  no  clue  to  the 
mortality  situation  among  the  wage-earning  masses  of  the  country. 
The  health  statistics  of  the  negro,  compiled  from  similar  population 
sources,  have  been  more  or  less  unsatisfactory  because  of  the  lack  of 
required  detail  as  to  sex,  age  and  diseases  causing  death.  Students 
of  the  health  of  races  have  long  desired  mortality  statistics  of  groups 
comparably  situated  as  regards  urban  environment  and  otherwise.  In 
the  present  work,  there  is  as  much  detail  of  tabulation  for  the  white  as 

175 

Amer.  Jour.  Phys.  Anthrop.,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1. 


176  SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS   AND    REPORTS 

for  the  negro  groups.  Anthropologists  may  have  confidence  in  these 
figures  of  mortality  according  to  race,  first,  because  they  are  founded 
upon  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  number  of  lives  exposed  to  risk, 
and  second,  because  the  processes  of  gathering,  editing  and  compiling 
the  facts  of  mortality  were  carried  on  with  the  utmost  concern  for 
accuracy. 

The  report  covers  the  six  years  from  1911  to  1916.  There  were 
more  than  635,000  deaths  tabulated,  of  which  more  than  four  fifths 
(82  per  cent)  were  those  of  white  persons,  and  18  per  cent  of  negroes. 
But  only  12.5  per  cent,  of  the  lives  exposed  to  risk  were  negroes.  The 
higher  mortality  rate  of  negroes  becomes  apparent  at  once  from  this 
simple  comparison  of  the  racial  make-up  of  the  exposure  and  of  the 
deaths.  In  terms  of  the  actual  death  rate,  the  negro  group  showed 
an  excess  life-loss  of  56  per  cent.  Considered  according  to  sex, 
negro  males  showed  an  excess  of  nearly  one  half  (49  per  cent)  and 
negro  females  an  excess  of  slightly  more  than  three  fifths  (62  per  cent) 
over  the  rates  for  the  corresponding  sexes  among  the  Caucasian 
groups. 

Anthropologists  will  perhaps  be  interested  in  following  this  ratio 
between  the  mortality  figures  of  white  and  colored  persons  through  the 
several  age-divisions  of  life.  From  the  published  data  this  can  be 
done  not  only  for  the  total  mortality,  but  also  for  any  of  the  important 
diseases  and  conditions. 

The  findings  on  the  relative  mortality  of  whites  and  negroes,  and 
of  males  and  females,  in  this  work  may  be  discussed  first,  with  respect 
to  age,  and  then  for  the  important  diseases  and  conditions  causing 
death. 

2.    EXCESS    OF   MORTALITY   AMONG    NEGROES 

(a)  Males 

Considering  the  excess  mortality  among  negroes  over  that  for 
white  persons,  according  to  age,  properly  distinguishing  sex,  we  find 
that  whereas  the  negroes  show  for  all  ages  one  and  over^  an  excess  of 
49  per  cent  among  males,  this  ratio  of  excess  mortality  varies  con- 
siderably at  the  several  age  divisions  of  life.  Thus,  in  early  childhood, 
in  the  period  one  to  four  years,  there  was  an  excess  of  72  per  cent. 
Between  5  and  9  years  of  age  this  excess  was  49  per  cent.  There  was 
a  sharp  increase  in  this  ratio  to  a  maximum  of  150  per  cent  for  colored 
males  at  15  to  19  years  of  age.     After  age  20  this  ratio  tends  to  de- 

»  No  infants  under  1  are  included  in  this  insurance  mortality  experience. 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS  177 

crease  until  in  old  age  there  is  very  little  difference  shown  in  these 
figures  between  the  mortality  of  insured  male  white  and  negro  wage- 
earners.     The  data  are  given  on  page  16  of  the  book. 

(6)  Females 

The  readers  of  this  journal  will  be  interested  in  the  analj^sis  ac- 
cording to  age,  of  the  mortality  among  colored  females  in  excess  of  that 
among  white  females.  Between  15  and  19  years  this  group  of  negro 
females  showed  an  excess  of  217  per  cent  over  the  mortality  of  white 
females.  After  having  risen  to  this  point  of  maximum  excess,  the 
ratio  declines,  gradually  with  age,  but  is  higher  than  the  excess  for 
negro  males  at  every  age  period.  The  reasons  for  the  unfavorable 
showing  of  colored  females,  especially  in  the  age  period  of  early  adoles- 
cence, 15  to  19  years,  are  not  apparent  from  superficial  examination 
of  the  figures  at  hand.  The  data  suggest  detailed  inquiiy  by  students 
of  the  comparative  health  of  races.  Enough  material  is  given  through- 
out the  book  for  the  several  diseases  and  conditions  to  justify  refined 
analysis  of  the  figures. 

3.    EXCESS    OF    MORTALITY   AMONG    MALES 

(a)  White  Persons 

Among  white  persons  the  mortality  of  males,  at  all  ages  one  and 
over,  exceeded  that  of  females  by  14  per  cent  and  among  colored 
persons  by  4  per  cent.  The  mortality  rates  of  the  two  sexes  among 
white  lives  tended  to  approximate  each  other  only  in  the  ages  10  to 
19  years,  but  at  all  other  age  periods  in  this  present  mortality  experi- 
ence the  curves  of  mortality  among  white  males  and  females  showed 
a  decided  excess  among  males.  The  maximum  excess  of  mortality 
among  white  males  is  reached  in  the  age  period  35  to  44  years,  after 
a  series  of  sharp  increments  in  this  ratio  at  the  earlier  ages. 

(6)  Colored  Persons 

The  group  of  insured  colored  lives  shows  few  of  the  characteristics 
of  the  sex-ratio  of  mortality  that  are  found  among  the  Caucasions. 
These  figures  emphasize  the  caution  that  inquiries  into  the  sex-ratio  of 
mortality  by  age  must  take  into  account  the  factor  of  race.  Thus, 
between  5  and  25  years  of  age  the  death  rate  from  all  causes  among 
colored  males  is  very  much  beloiv  that  of  colored  females.  The  age 
period  25  to  34  years,  begins  to  show  an  excess  of  male  mortality 


178 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS   AND    REPORTS 


(15  per  cent),  and  this  rises  to  a  maximum  figure  of  19  per  cent  in  the 
age  group  35  to  44  years.  In  tlie  ages  between  45  and  75  years  of  age 
the  excess  of  mortality  among  colored  males  varies  but  little  from  a 
figure  of  15  per  cent.  It  will  be  seen  from  this  brief  consideration  of 
the  mortality  from  all  causes  of  death  that  no  general  conclusions  on 
the  comparative  vitality  of  males  and  females,  of  white  and  colored 
persons  can  be  drawn  without  considering  the  make-up  of  the  mortality 
according  to  diseases  and  conditions. 

Before  passing  to  such  a  detailed  discussion,  however,  we  would 
direct  the  reader's  attention  to  the  characteristics  of  the  two  sets  of 
curves  given  on  pages  17  and  19  of  this  book.  On  the  first  mentioned 
page  the  authors  have  shown  a  chart  illustrating  by  age  the  mortality 
from  all  causes  of  death  of  white  males  and  colored  males,  respectively. 
The  curve  of  .white  males  is  "J"  shaped,  or  concave  throughout, 
but  that  for  colored  males  shows  a  convex  tendency  between  central 
age  12.5  and  30  j^ears  of  age.  The  curves  on  page  19  of  the  book  show 
the  usual  "J"  shaped  curve  of  mortality  for  white  females,  but  the 
colored  female  group  shows  a  pronounced  departure  from  the  "J" 
conformation  between  central  ages  12.5  and  30  years,  more  so  than  for 
colored  males.  Among  the  group  of  insured  colored  persons,  tuber- 
culosis seems  to  be  responsible  for  most  of  the  convex  tendency  of 
the  mortality  curve  between  central  ages  12.5  and  30  years.  In 
addition,  among  colored  females  the  very  high  death  rate  from  diseases 
and  conditions  connected  with  child-bearing  and  the  gravid  state  con- 
tribute to  the  hump  in  the  curve  for  that  group  at  the  early  adult 
ages. 


4.    IMPORTANT   ASPECTS    OF    WAGE-EARNERS   MORTALITY   ACCORDING    TO 
DISEASES    CAUSING    DEATH 

A  short  abstract  table  is  given  below  showing  the  mortality  from 
principal  causes  of  death  among  this  group  of  insured  wage-earners. 

Death  Rates  per  100,000  Exposed.     Principal  Causes  of  Death  among  Wage- 
Earners.     By  Color  and  Sex 


Total 

White 

Colored 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

All  causes  of  death 

1,181 

1,182 

1,040 

1,763 

1,689 

Tuberculosis— total 

205 
186 
140 

212 
194 
126 

147 
132 
137 

430 

391 
191 

385 

Tuberculosis  of  the  lungs 

349 

Organic  diseases  of  the  heart 

202 

SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS 


179 


Death  Rates  per  100,000  Exposed.     Principal  Causes  of  Death  among  Wage- 
Earners.    By  Color  and  Sex. — Contintied. 


Total 

WMte 

Colored 

Cause  of  Death 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

Pneumonia — total 

Bronchopneumonia 

Pneumonia — lobar  and  undefined  .  . 

Bright's  disease 

External  causes  of  death' 

108 
30 
78 
97 
94 
73 
12 
7 
2 
70 
68 

9 

9 

6 

24 

26 

19 

8 

5 

17 

14 

12 

4 

4 

112 

30 

83 

97 

147 

116 

20 

5 

5 

50 

60 

11 
11 

5 
30 

28 

i6 
11 

13 
2 
2 

92 
29 
63 
88 
45 
36 
7 
2 

88 
70 

9 
9 
6 
24 
25 
33 
14 

9 

13 

19 

10 

4 

2 

179 
38 

142 
139 
184 
121 
10 
52 

3i 

77 

5 

3 

9 

10 

26 

36 

10 

14 

6 

18 

131 
34 
97 

121 

58 

Accidents 

Suicides 

Homicides                                       .... 

39 

5 

14 

War  deaths 

Cancer 

Cerebral  hemorrhage,  apoplexy 

Four  communicable  diseases  of  child- 
hood:  ; 

Measles 

Scarlet  fever 

Whooping  cough ^ 

Diphtheria  and  croup 

Diarrhea  and  enteritis 

88 
97 

5 
2 
9 
9 

28 

Puerperal  state : 

49 

Puerperal  septicemia 

23 

Puerperal     albuminuria     and     con- 

\Tilsions 

Typhoid  fever '.  . 

12 
34 

Diabetes 

11 

Appendicitis 

13 

Pellagra 

Malaria 

21 

22 

5.    TUBERCULOSIS 

It  can  be  seen  very  readily  from  the  foregoing  table  that  tuberculosis 
is  still  the  chief  cause  of  death  among  wage-earners.  The  group  of 
organic  diseases  of  the  heart  is  next  in  importance  in  the  number  of 
deaths,  followed  by  pneumonia — all  forms.  In  the  Registration  Area 
of  the  United  States,  1917,  on  the  other  hand,  organic  diseases  of  the 
heart  is  the  first  group  of  causes  of  death  followed  by  pneumonia — 
all  forms,  and  then  by  tuberculosis — all  forms.  Prior  to  1915  tubercu- 
losis had  been  the  chief  cause  of  death  in  the  general  population,  but 
with  the  continued  downward  progress  of  the  tuberculosis  rate,  or- 
ganic diseases  of  the  heart  assumed  the  place  of  first  importance. 
Since  then,  the  rate  for  organic  diseases  of  the  heart  has  been  higher 
than  that  for  tuberculosis — all  forms.  In  1915  and  1916,  organic 
diseases  of  the  heart,  tuberculosis  and  pneumonia  were  the  three 
ranking  causes  of  death  in  the  general  population,  but  in  1917  pnoii. 

'  Includes  war  deatlis  not  shown  in  above  table. 


180  SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS 

monia  displaced  tuberculosis  as  the  second  cause  of  death.  For  the 
group  of  insured  wage-earners,  however,  there  is  still  such  a  gap  be- 
tween the  tuberculosis  curve  and  that  for  organic  diseases  of  the 
heart  that  it  will  be  some  time  before  the  order  of  the  first  three  im- 
portant causes  is  disturbed,  barring  years  of  excessive  pneumonia  pre- 
valence such  as  in  1918.  The  group  of  colored  males  showed  the 
highest  rate  from  tuberculosis  (430),  with  colored  females  next  in  order 
(385)  followed  by  white  males  (212),  then  by  white  females  (147). 
These  differences  in  the  tuberculosis  death  rates  of  the  four  chief 
race  and  sex  groups  require  much  detailed  examination  before  con- 
clusions can  be  drawn.  There  are,  first  of  all,  differences  in  the  age 
distribution  of  the  several  groups  and  in  the  types  of  tuberculosis 
curves  when  drawn  with  respect  to  age.  On  page  50  of  the  book, 
the  authors  show  two  sets  of  curves  for  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs. 
Due  reflection  upon  these  curves  emphasizes  the  need  for  extreme 
caution  in  comparing  the  crude  tuberculosis  death  rates  of  the  several 
color  and  sex  groups  or  classes  when  the  data  are  not  displayed  for 
age.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  curve  for  white  males  is  of  the  middle 
adult  age  type  with  its  peak  at  central  age  40.  That  for  colored  males 
is,  no  doubt,  a  compound  of  curves  ttf  an  early-adult  and  a  middle- 
adult  age  type.  There  is  a  sharp  rise  from  childhood  to  a  high  rate 
in  the  age  period  20  to  24  years.  This  figure  is  maintained  practically 
until  central  age  40  after  which  there  is  a  more  or  less  precipitate 
drop.  The  curve  for  white  females  covers  by  far  the  least  area,  reaches 
a  maximum  at  central  age  30  but  resembles  no  one  type  of  tuberculosis 
curve.  The  outline  of  the  curve  for  colored  females,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  frankly  that  of  very  early  adult,  perhaps  more  properly,  late 
adolescent  type,  with  its  maximum  point  at  central  age  22.5  years, 
with  very  sharp  descending  limbs  on  both  sides  of  the  maximum. 
The  authors  suggest  that  the  figures  for  the  age  incidence  of  tubercu- 
losis of  the  lungs  may  not  represent  a  single  disease  entity,  but  that 
perhaps  all  of  the  curves  are  compounded  of  constituents,  each  repre- 
senting a  certain  type  of  the  disease  in  relation  to  race,  economic 
status,  and  other  causative  factors;  There  may  even  be  a  variety  of 
infecting  organisms  which  may  help  to  account  for  the  differences  in 
the  two  races  at  the  various  age  groups. 

In  the  text  the  authors  have  simply  stated  their  findings  with 
respect  to  the  incidence  of  tuberculosis  mortality  in  the  several  race 
groups  and  by  sex  and  age,  but  admit  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to 
say  why  tuberculosis  mortality  of  the  negro  is  higher  than  that  of  the 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS  181 

white  group,  and  among  males  higher  than  among  females.  Whether 
these  differences  reflect  truly  the  influence  of  race,  or  of  sex,  or  whether 
the  explanation  lies  in  environment  (sanitation,  economic  status, 
occupation,  etc.)  it  is  impossible  to  say.  So  very  much  depends  upon 
clinical  evidence  of  the  type  and  characteristics  of  the  disease  and 
upon  one's  success  in  evaluating  the  several  factors  of  inheritance, 
opportunity  for  infection,  the  virulence  of  the  invading  and  compli- 
cating organisms  and  the  important  facts  of  environment  such  as  hous- 
ing, nutrition,  medical  care  during  the  incipient  state  and  a  host  of 
other  important  facts.  Physical  anthropology  has  before  it  one  of  its 
greatest  tasks  in  showing  what  bodily  measurements  are  associated 
in  tuberculosis  with  the  several  race  and  sex  groups,  considered  by 
age,  which  display  such  widely  different  types  of  mortality  curves  for 
a  single  disease. 

Among  white  male  wage-earners,  the  authors  found  a  lower  rate 
from  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs  under  age  15,  and  after  that  age  a 
higher  rate  than  among  males  in  the  general  population.  This  was 
also  true  for  white  females  in  wage  earners'  families,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  ages  beyond  age  65  years. 

6.  TENDENCY  OF  TUBERCULOSIS  MORTALITY  IN  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED 

RACES 

The  course  of  the  tuberculosis  death  rate  has  been  consistently 
downward  during  the  six  years  covered  by  this  report  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  expect  any  slackening  in  the  tendency  toward  decline.  In 
1911,  the  rate  for  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs  was  203;  in  1916,  173  per 
100,000  exposed.  This  represents  a  decline  of  15  per  cent.  In  other 
words,  for  every  seven  deaths  from  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs  in  1911 
there  was,  to  correspond,  in  1916  only  six  deaths.  This  is  indeed  a 
satisfactory  showing  and  reflects  not  only  the  work  of  the  entire  tuber- 
culosis movement  but  also  every  other  effort  toward  the  improvement 
of  the  public  health,  especially  the  advancement  of  the  welfare  of 
children. 

7.    TUBERCULOSIS    IN    THE    NEGRO 

Unfortunately,  this  downward  tendency  of  the  tuberculosis  death 
rate  of  the  Industrial  Department  reflects  only  the  very  favorable 
experience  of  the  group  of  white  lives.  Among  colored  males,  there 
has  been  a  distinct  increase  in  the  death  rate  for  tuberculosis  of  the 
lungs  over  the  period  covered  by  this  report.     In  1911  the  rate  was 


182  SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS 

379  and  in  1916,  387  per  100,000.  In  1915  a  very  high  rate  of  400 
per  100,000  was  reached  for  colored  males.  Although  the  situation 
is  not  so  grave  among  colored  females,  still,  there  is  no  evidence  from 
the  statistics  of  six  years  that  there  has  been  any  substantial  decline 
in  the  rate  for  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs  among  this  group.  It  would 
be  conservative  to  say  that  the  rate  for  this  disease  among  colored 
females  is  practically  stationary  but  that  among  colored  males  it 
has  increased  at  an  alarming  rate.  These  sanitary  statistics  show,  for 
recent  years,  what  has  been  emphasized  by  students  of  negro  mortality 
for  the  past  twenty  or  more  years,  namely,  that  the  increasing  urbaniza- 
tion of  the  negro  is,  and  will  be  for  some  time  to  come,  productive  of 
high  mortality  from  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs.  It  is  not  possible  to 
say,  at  the  present  time,  whether  there  is  any  prospect  of  checking 
the  increase  in  the  tuberculosis  death  rate  among  colored  males  be- 
cause of  the  elimination  of  individuals  unable  to  survive  under  the 
conditions  of  urban  negro  life.  Students  of  the  health  of  the  several 
races  of  mankind,  would  do  well  to  observe  the  trend  of  the  tubercu- 
losis death  rate  of  negroes  in  cities,  especially  in  relation  to  changes  in 
the  age  or  other  outstanding  characteristics  of  the  disease. 

8.    ORGANIC    DISEASES    OF    THE    HEART 

So  far  as  we  may  place  confidence  at  present  in  any  statistics  of  this 
group  of  causes  of  death,  the  death  rate  seems  to  be  very  much  higher 
among  the  negroes  than  among  the  insured  white  group.  Organic 
diseases  of  the  heart,  however,  showed  a  higher  death  rate  among 
females  of  both  race  groups  than  among  males.  From  an  inspection 
of  the  graphic  chart  given  on  page  67  of  the  book,  it  will  be  seen  that 
this  higher  mortality  among  females  of  both  race  groups  occurred 
under  25  years  of  age.  Among  white  males,  after  25  years  of  age, 
the  death  rates  for  organic  diseases  of  the  heart  are  greater  than  for 
white  females.  It  should  be  noted  that  up  to  54  years  among  colored 
females  (with  one  exception,  between  25  and  34  years),  the  death  rate 
for  this  group  of  diseases  is  higher  than  among  colored  males.  After 
55  years  of  age,  the  death  rate  for  colored  males  is  the  higher. 

There  seems  to  be  a  greater  proportionate  excess  of  the  death 
rates  of  this  group  of  diseases  for  colored  females  above  white  females, 
than  there  is  for  the  rates  for  colored  males  over  those  of  white  males. 
This  will  be  seen  also  from  the  chart  given  on  page  67. 

By  age  periods,  the  mortality  from  organic  diseases  of  the  heart 
are  much  higher  among  wage  earners  than  among  the  general  popu- 
lation. 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS  183 

The  evidence  from  table  31  is  that  there  seems  to  be  a  stationary 
death  rate  from  this  group  of  organic  diseases  of  the  heart.  This  may- 
be contrasted  with  the  apparently  increasing  death  rate  in  the  Regis- 
tration Area  for  deaths  in  the  United  States. 

9.    PNEUMONIA 

Diseases  caused  by  acute  infections  of  the  respiratory  tract  have 
assumed  an  increasingly  menacing  place  among  the  causes  of  mortality. 
The  public  health  records  of  important  cities  of  the  United  States  show 
that  the  only  bacteria-caused  disease  in  the  entire  category  of  such 
diseases,  which  had  higher  death  rates  in  these  recent  years  than  30 
or  40  years  ago,  is  the  pneumonia-bronchitis-influenza  group.  The 
statistics  given  by  the  authors  in  Chapter  VI  will  be  a  small  contribu- 
tion to  the  historical  study  of  respiratory  infections.  It  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  pneumonia  is  the  most  important,  numerically, 
of  the  acute  infectious  diseases.  It  kills  every  year  more  people  than 
die  of  such  communicable  diseases  as  measles,  scarlet  fever,  diphtheria, 
whooping  cough  and  acute  poliomyelitis  combined.  Somehow  or 
other,  until  the  great  outbreak  of  so-called  influenza  in  the  fall  of  1918, 
the  general  public  paid  but  little  attention  to  respiratory  disease 
mortality.  The  interest  aroused  in  real  preventive  measures  by  the 
pandemic  should  be  maintained  and  some  solution  sought  to  the 
riddle  of  mortality  from  the  group  of  diseases  resulting  from  respira- 
tory infections. 

Reverting  to  the  statistics  of  insured  wage-earners,  the  death  rate 
from  pneumonia,  lobar  and  undefined,  was  considerably  higher  among 
colored  persons  than  among  white  persons.  This  applies  to  both  sexes. 
The  most  striking  differences  between  the  mortality  of  the  two  race 
groups  from  pneumonia — lobar  and  undefined,  occurred  between 
central  age  17.5  and  52.5  years.  It  is  shown  on  the  chart  on  page  75, 
that  there  is  a  slight  convexity  in  the  curve  for  pneumonia — lobar  and 
undefined  between  central  ages  12.5  and  30  years,  for  both  colored 
males  and  colored  females.  Whether  this  hump  in  the  curve  is  due  to 
the  inclusion  of  deaths  from  tuberculous  pneumonitis,  is  doubtful. 
The  volume  also  gives  a  discussion  of  mortality  from  bronchopneu- 
monia. The  graph  on  page  81  shows  that  the  broncho-pneumonia 
mortality  curve  according  to  ages  is  "U"  shaped  and  not  "J"  shaped, 
as  for  pneumonia — lobar  and  undefined.  If  the  statistics  for  the  ages 
under  one  year  were  available,  a  .still  higher  point  would  have  been 
shown  on  the  graph  for  bronchopneumonia,  but  unfortunately  such 


184  SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS   AND    REPORTS 

data  were  not  at  hand  in  the  insurance  records.  The  data  for  both 
forms  of  pneumonia,  taken  in  conjunction  with  those  for  influenza, 
should  afford  students  of  the  influenza  pandemic  a  considerable  amount 
of  material  for  study. 

After  25  years  of  age,  -the  pneumonia  rate  is  much  higher  among 
wage  earners  than  among  the  general  population. 

10.    OTHER    DISEASES   AND    CONDITIONS 

In  this  abstract  a  considerable  amount  of  text  has  been  given  on 
the  three  important  groups  of  causes  of  death  in  this  experience  for 
wage-earners.  In  concluding  this  summary  it  may  be  well  to  comment, 
briefly,  upon  the  chief  facts  reported  by  the  authors  for  the  other 
leading  causes  of  death. 

(a)    BRIGHT's    DISEASE 

The  cause  of  death  next  in  numerical  importance  was  Bright's 
Disease.  As  the  authors  point  out  on  page  87,  there  is  still  too  much 
uncertainitj^  in  the  statistics  of  Bright's  disease,  and  in  fact  for  the 
other  cardiovascular-renal  diseases,  that  they  did  not  draw  any  final 
conclusions  on  the  relative  incidence  of  Bright's  disease  in  the  several 
color,  sex  and  age  groups.  The  statistics,  however,  are  sufficiently 
good  to  warrant  presentation  in  detailed  tabular  form,  having  in 
mind  always  the  inherent  deficiencies  in  such  statistics  of  organic 
diseases.  The  discussion  on  page  87,  at  the  beginning  of  Chapter 
VII,  outlines  the  reasons  why  Bright's  disease  mortality  statistics 
should  be  viewed  with  more  than  ordinary  caution.  The  Bright's 
disease  death  rate  among  both  colored  males  and  females,  was  very 
much  higher  than  the  rates  prevailing  among  white  males  and  white 
females.  These  differences  are  much  more  pronounced  after  35  years 
of  age  than  earlier  in  life.  The  mortality  of  both  groups  is,  for  nearly 
all  age  periods,  higher  among  males  than  among  females. 

(6)    EXTERNAL   VIOLENCE 

Mortality  from  accidental  and  other  external  causes  of  death  was 
high.  Accidents,  including  unspecified  violence,  showed  a  death  rate 
of  73  per  100,000,  suicides  a  rate  of  12,  homicides  a  rate  of  7,  and  war 
deaths  a  rate  of  2  per  100,000.  These  mortality  rates  were  higher  at 
most  age  groups  among  the  group  of  white  insured  wage-earners  than 
in  the  corresponding  sex  classes  of  the  United  States  Registration 
Area  for  deaths.     The  figures  of  accident  mortality  in  the  United 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS  185 

States  compare  very  unfavorably  with  those  available  for  the  countries 
in  Europe  before  the  War.  Thus,  in  the  year  1913,  the  fatal  acci- 
dent rate  of  England  and  Wales  for  the  age  period  35  to  44  years 
among  males,  was  62  per  100,000.  In  the  Registration  Area  of  the 
United  States,  the  rate  for  males  at  these  ages  was  140,  and  among 
insured  white  males,  154  per  100,000.  It  was  pointed  out,  further, 
that  when  the  fatal  accidents  for  these  three  areas  were  classified 
according  to  means  of  injury,  i.e.,  falls,  burns,  drowning,  steam  rail- 
road accidents,  etc.,  the  figures  for  the  United  States  were  much  above 
those  for  England  and  Wales.  The  table  on  page  101  shows  that 
falls  were  the  most  frequent  of  the  specified  forms  of  violence,  with 
accidental  drowning  next  in  importance  and  followed  by  Imrns,  steam 
railroad  accidents  and  injuries  and  automobile  accidents  and  injuries. 
The  authors  indicate  that  the  death  rate  from  automobile  accidents 
and  injuries  was  progressively  on  the  increase  throughout  the  period 
under  observation  and  showed  .that  the  automobile  is  a  growing 
menace  to  the  lives  of  children  of  the  run-about  age. 

Homicide  is  an  important  cause  among  negroes.  It  is  next  to 
tuberculosis  and  pneumonia,  the  chief  cause  of  death  among  colored 
males  at  the  period  25  to  34  years. 

(c)    CANCER 

The  chapter  on  cancer  statistics  is  interesting  because  it  presents 
among  other  things,  a  table  showing  the  incidence  of  the  disease  in 
three  different  economic, strata.  The  authors  show,  that  age  being 
considered,  the  cancer  death  rate  is  higher  among  the  wage  earning 
groups  of  the  population  than  among  those  better  situated  in  an  eco- 
nomic sense.  Furthermore,  another  important  fact  brought  out  in 
the  text  is  that  no  real  increase  in  the  cancer  death  rate  can  be  de- 
tected from  the  statistics  of  insured  wage-earners.  Students  of  the 
cancer  problem  will  profit  from  a  detailed  examination  of  this  chapter. 
It  should  be  noted  that  the  Journal  of  Cancer  Research  for  July,  1919, 
gives  the  tabular  and  text  material  of  this  chapter  in  full. 

(rf)    DISEASES    OF    THE    MATERNAL    STATE 

The  chapter  on  diseases  and  conditions  associated  with  the  maternal 
state  will  also  be  interesting,  especially  those  that  show  the  possible 
effect  upon  maternal  mortality  of  a  comprehensive  programme  of 
nursing  in  the  puerperal  state.     The  authors  show  that  there  was  a 


186  SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS   AND    REPORTS 

decline  of  10.7  per  cent  in  the  death  rate  from  puerperal  diseases  and 
conditions  among  insured  white  women  in  the  six  years  as  compared 
with  the  practicall}^  stationary  death  rates  among  women  in  the 
Registration  Area  of  the  United  States. 

(e)    TYPHOID    FEVER 

Typhoid  fever,  a  disease  which  is  practically  an  index  of-the  sani- 
tary intelligence  of  a  community,  shows  a  decline  of  43  per  cent  during 
the  six  years  covered  by  this  mortality  experience  for  all  of  the  color  or 
sex  classes  or  groups.  Rather  complete  statistics  are  given  for  the 
age  and  sex  incidence  of  the  disease. 

(/)    OTHER   DISEASES 

The  statistics  for  diabetes  will  be  of  exceedingly  great  interest 
to  anthropologists  because  they  show  that  the  death  rate  is  higher 
among  wage-earners  than  among  the  general  population.  It  has  been 
thought  that  diabetes  was  more  frequent,  and  perhaps  caused  more 
mortality,  among  the  better  situated  classes  of  the  community. 
The  age  distribution  of  deaths  from  diabetes  is  also  of  interest.  This 
is  shown  by  the  statistics  contained  on  page  229  of  the  volume.  Stu- 
dents interested  in  the  mortality  from  pellagra  and  malaria,  two 
diseases  found  at  present  very  largely  in  the  South,  will  find  complete 
tables  according  to  color,  sex  and  age  and  single  calendar  years  in 
Chapter  XVI. 

Enough  has  been  given  in  the  way  of  an  abstract  to  show  that  this 
volume  contains  a  great  mass  of  material  instructive  to  students  of 
public  health  and  of  the  health  problems  of  races.  The  Metropolitan 
Life  Insurance  Company  has  made  it  a  policy  to  distribute  this  volume 
to  research  students,  to  reference  libraries  and  to  members  of  the 
medical  profession  interested  in  data  of  this  kind.  While  the  supply 
lasts,  the  Company  will  continue  to  give  this  work  to  qualified  per- 
sons who  wish  to  use  these  data  in  the  furtherance  of  the  study  of 
anthropological,  biological  and  public  health  problems. 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS  187 

THE   NEWEST   DISCOVERY   OF   ''ANCIENT"   MAN   IN 
THE  UNITED   STATES 

On  July  21,  1919,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  received  the  following 

letter  from  a  reputable  physician : 

Zaxesville,  Ohio,  Juty  19,  1919. 
Smithsoxiax  Institution, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Dear  Sirs: 

I  \\Tite  you  in  regard  to  a  highly  important  anthropological  find  made  six  miles 
from  our  city  at  Gilbert  Station  within  the  past  week  by  excavators  of  the  Glacial 
Sand  Company  of  this  city  in  the  glacial  drift  at  that  point  and  at  a  depth  of  thirty- 
two  feet  below  the  surface  and  in  a  gravel  strata. 

The  find  was  a  skeleton  of  prehistoric  man  and  measurement  was  made  at  once 
of  the  length  of  the  body  and  it  measured  six  feet.  The  bones  crumbled  to  dust 
very  promptly  excepting  the  skull,  which  was  brought  to  this  city  and  which  I 
examined  today. 

The  measurements  of  the  skull  were  from  glabella  to  the  spinal  foramen,  fourteen 
inches;  circumference  around  the  forehead  (hat  band  measure),  fourteen  inches; 
from  tip  of  mastoid  to  tip  of  mastoid,  over  top  of  head,  fourteen  and  one-half  inches. 

This  was  an  adult  as  shown  from  type  of  body  and  the  fact  that  the  sutures  of  the 
skull  were  grown  together.  The  temporal  bone  was  missing  on  one  side  and  the 
lower  jaw  was  missing.  There  was  a  shallow  frontal  sinus  and  ethmoidal  sphenoidal 
cells  were  present,  also  mastoid  cells.  The  petrous  part  of  the  temporal  bone  was 
about  the  same  shape  as  in  modern  skull  and  semi-circular  canals  were  in  same  posi- 
tion as  in  any  skull,  .showing  that  the  lower  jaw  could  not  have  been  that  of  an  ape. 
There  was  a  hole  in  the  occipital  region  which  was  made  delicately  and  evidently 
with  a  chisel,  hke  the  skulls  shown  in  government  reports  and  books  of  anthropology 
pubhshed  some  years  ago.  Whether  tliis  hole  was  made  for  surgical  purposes  to 
extract  arrow-head  or  whether  to  let  out  the  evil  spirit,  I  do  not  know.  The  skull 
of  the  body  was  facing  the  east.     No  signs  of  sjTDhilis  on  skull. 

I  write  you  at  once  so  that  you  can  immediately  come  to  Zanesville  to  examine 
this  skull,  should  you  so  desire,  before  it  crumbles  to  dust,  as  tliis  undoubtedly  is  a 
great  find.  It  is  in  possession  of  Mr.  Henry  Buerhaus  of  the  Glacial  Sand  Company, 
17  Richard  Block,  Zanesville,  Ohio. 

\'ery  truly  yours, 

^ ,  M.D. 

P.S.     Tliis  skull  must  far  antedate  Glacial  period. 

I  have  sent  a  copy  of  above  to  Curator  O.  Mills,  Columbus,  Oliio. 

As  the  Department  of  Anthropology  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
in  cooperation  with  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  have  made  it  their  aim 
now  for  many  years  to  carefully  examine  into  every  find  of  this  nature 
made  in  the  United  States  that  seems  to  be  of  some  importance,  and 
as  the  above  letter  was  received  from  a  medical  man  who  evidently 
had  some  knowledge  of  anthropology,  a  telegram  was  sent  to  Professor 


188  SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS 

W.  C.  Mills,  of  the  Ohio  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society  request- 
ing him  to  visit  Zanesville,  examine  the  remains,  and  report  at  once 
on  the  results  of  this  examination. 

Professor  Mills,  however,  was  in  the  field,  and  there  was  no  response 
to  the  telegram.  Efforts  were  therefore  made  to  have  a  competent 
geologist  examine  the  site,  which  resulted  in  a  visit  to  the  same  by 
Professor  Leroy  Patton,  of  the  Muskingum  College.  In  addition, 
the  writer  sent  the  following  note  to  our  informer  at  Zanesville: 

July  26,  1919 

Dear  Dr. : 

This  letter  should  reach  you  on  Monday.  If  so,  kindly  telegraph  at  once, 
Government  Business  Collect,  brief  information  on  the  following  points:  (1)  Are  the 
specimens  about  which  you  so  kindly  notified  us  still  available  for  examination;  (2) 
has  any  scientific  man  been  there  to  see  them  or  the  site,  or  is  one  expected;  (3)  does 
the  find  still  appear  important  enough  to  you  to  warrant  my  coming  to  Zanesville; 
(4)  has  anything  else  been  found  besides  the  skeletal  remains  you  mentioned  in 
your  letter? 

Should  the  case  warrant  it,  I  will  reach  Zanesville  on  Tuesday  evening. 

Very  truly  yours, 

A.  Hrdlicka, 
Curator,  Div.  Physical  Anthropology 

Shortly  after,  the  following  letter  was  received  from  Professor 
Mills: 

Flint  Ridge  Camp,  Thursday,  July  24,  1919 
Prof.  W.  H.  Holmes, 

U.  S.  National  Museum. 
Dear  Prof.  Holmes: 

I  have  your  telegram  wliich  was  forwarded  to  me  here  at  Flint  Ridge,  and  in  a 
few  moments  I  started  for  Zanesville,  20  miles  to  the  east.  I  found  Mr.  Buerhaus 
at  his  office  and  he  turned  over  the  skull  in  question  and  I  boxed  same  and  forwarded 
by  express  and  I  hope  you  will  receive  the  package  in  due  time.  Mr.  Buerhaus 
presents  same  to  the  Museum  and  I  hope  you  will  acknowledge  receipt  and  give  him 
your  opinion  concerning  the  skull.  My  own  opinion  is  that  the  skull  is  adult  female 
(Indian),  found  in  a  deposit  of  river  gravel.  I  did  not  have  time  to  visit  the  place 
but  if  the  skull  proves  other  I  will  gladly  go  and  inspect  the  entire  region  although 
I  have  been  along  the  river  many  times  and  feel  assured  in  my  own  mind  concerning 
the  location.  I  have  a  number  of  men  at  work  opening  the  old  quarries  and  felt 
compelled  to  return  at  the  earhest  time  possible. 

Very  truly  yours, 

W.  C.  Mills 

The  skull  came  promptly,  and  after  examination  the  following 
report  on  it  was  sent  to  the  donor: 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS  189 

July  30,  1919 
Mr.  a.  H.  Buerhatjs, 

Glacial  Sand  and  Gravel  Co., 
Zanesville,  Ohio. 
Dear  Sir: 

According  to  j-our  wish  I  herewith  submit  a  brief  report  on  the  human  skull 
which  you  had  the  kindness  to  send  us  last  week: 

The  skull  is  that  of  an  adult  female  subject,  probably  Indian;  but  the  possibility 
of  it  being  Wliite  cannot  be  excluded. 

The  specimen  is  so  damaged  that  very  Uttle  besides  this  can  be  said  about  it. 
The  hole  in  the  back  part  is  not  due  to  an  operation,  but  evidently  to  an  abrasion. 
The  specimen  shows  no  signs  whatever  of  antiquity. 

Should  any  other  human  remains  be  found  in  the  work  under  yoiu-  direction, 
kindly  preserve  the  bones  for  us. 

Very  truly  yours, 

A.  Hrdlicka, 
Curator,  Div.  Physical  Anthropology 

Meanwhile,  a  telegram  and  several  notes  wei-e  received  from  our 
original  informer  to  the  effect  that  the  find  had  upon  critical  examina- 
tion by  Professoi's  Mills  and  Patton  lost  much  of  its  importance; 
and  a  few  days  later  the  following  detailed  report  on  the  find  was 
received  from  Prof.  Patton: 

ON  THE  HUMAN  REMAINS  IN   PLEISTOCENE  DEPOSITS  AT  GILBERT,   OHIO 

On  the  nineteenth  of  July  of  this  year  announcement  was  made 
through  the  medium  of  the  public  press  of  the  finding  of  a  skeleton 
of  a  human  being  near  Zanesville,  Ohio,  in  deposits  which  were  said 
to  prove  the  remains  to  be  of  Pleistocene  or  earlier  age.  Immediately 
upon  reading  the  press  reports  the  writer,  recognizing  the  possible 
importance  of  the  matter,  went  at  once  to  Gilbert  where  the  skeleton 
had  been  discovered  and  made  as  thorough  an  investigation  of  the 
circumstances  as  possible. 

It  was  learned  that  the  skeleton  had  been  found  in  the  pit  of  the 
Glacial  Sand  and  Gravel  Company  several  weeks  previous.  After 
being  removed  to  the  office  of  Mr.  Henry  Buerhaus,  treasurer  of  the 
company,  at  Zanesville,  it  attracted  the  attention  of  some  persons 
interested  in  geology  and  anthropology  in  an  amateur  way  and  also 
other  persons  interested  in  news  with  the  result  tliat  considerable 
publicity  was  given  to  the  matter  and  the  find  was  heralded  as  proving 
the  existence  of  man  in  this  region  in  glacial  or  pre-glacial  times. 

The  skeleton  was  found  by  Mr.  Cleve  Hunter,  foreman  of  company 
at  Gilbert  works.     Mr.  Hunter  went  over  the  ground  carefully  with 


190  SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS 

the  writer  and  gave  a  complete  and  detailed  account  of  the  circum- 
stances under  which  the  remains  were  found.  The  writer  desires  to 
state  that  he  found  Mr.  Hunter  an  intelligent  man,  thoroughly  honest 
and  straightforward  and  interested  only  in  giving  the  facts  as  he  knew 
them. 

The  Glacial  Sand  and  Gravel  Company  is  obtaining  material  at 
this  place  from  a  terrace  of  sand  and  gravel  in  the  valley  of  the 
Muskingum  River  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  one  eighth  of  a  mile 
north  of  the  Pennsylvania  R.  R.  station  at  Gilbert.  The  top  of  this 
Terrace  is  773  feet  A.T.,  the  river  at  this  place  being  700  feet  A.T. 
The  material  of  the  terrace  consists  of  alternating  layers  of  sand  and 
gravel,  the  sand  exhibiting  marked  cross-bedding  practically  through- 
out the  whole  of  the  exposui'e.  The  terrace  is  a  part  of  the  deposits 
described  by  Leverett  as  a  valley  train,  probably  of  Wisconsin  age.^ 

Sand  and  gravel  is  removed  from  the  terrace  by  means  of  a  steam 
shovel  which  is  located  at  the  base  of  the  terrace.  Operations  have 
exposed  the  face  of  the  terrace  for  a  distance  of  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  and  as  excavations  are  made  down  to  water  level  a  vertical 
face  of  about  seventy-five  feet  is  exposed.  Sand  and  gravel  have  been 
taken  from  this  terrace  for  a  number  of  years,  this  deposit  having  been 
worked  by  several  different  firms.  The  base  of  the  terrace  at  this 
place  is  now  considerably  further  east  from  the  river  than  formerly 
as  a  result  of  these  operations. 

The  material  of  the  terrace  stands  up  in  steep  faces  in  some  places 
in  the  exposure  and  in  others  slumps  down  to  the  angle  of  repose. 

Fourteen  feet  from  the  top  of  the  exposure  there  is  a  rather  persistent 
layer  of  sandy  clay  which  stands  up  better  than  the  rest  of  the  material 
and  forms  miniature  terraces  in  many  places.  The  sand  and  gravel 
slumping  down  from  above  lodge  on  this  shelf  and  the  material  piles 
up  at  an  angle  of  repose.  About  five  feet  above  the  clay  stratum  there 
is  a  layer  of  dark  carbonaceous  material.  This  is  also  persistent  and 
is  seen  throughout  the  exposure. 

Mr.  Hunter  stated  that  the  remains  were  found  above  the  clay 
stratum  and  at  an  elevation  lower  than  that  of  the  line  of  carbonaceous 
material.  Asked  to  point  out  a  situation  which  resembled  as  nearly 
as  possible  the  situation  in  which  the  remains  were  found  he  unhesitat- 
ingly indicated  one  of  the  miniature  terraces  described  above  and  said 
that  he  first  saw  the  skull  protruding  from  the  loose  sand  and  gravel 

1  Leverett,  Frank,  Monograph  XLI,  U.  S.  Geol.  Sur.,  "Glacial  Formations  and 
Drainage  Features  of  the  Erie  and  Ohio  River  Basins,"  p.  157. 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS  191 

piled  up  on  the  ledge.  It  should  be  noted  here  that  according  to  Mr. 
Hunter's  testimony  that  although  he  recalls  the  location  of  the  remains 
with  reference  to  the  cla}^  stratum  and  the  layer  of  carbonaceous 
material,  that  the  material  above  the  clay  stratum  was  not  in  place 
over  the  remains  when  they  were  found.  The  skeleton  was  lying 
roughh^  parallel  to  the  edge  of  the  ledge  when  found.  Underneath, 
between  it  and  the  clay  stratum  was  perhaps  a  foot  of  material. 
Whether  this  was  the  original  material  deposited  on  top  of  the  clay 
stratum  or  material  which  had  fallen  from  above  could  not  be  deter- 
mined. It  seemed  clear,  however,  from  Mr.  Hunter's  testimony  that 
the  material  which  covered  the  skeleton  was  loose  material  which  had 
fallen  from  above.  This  point  was  made  especially  clear  upon  the 
writer's  request  to  have  a  geology  hammer  placed  in  a  deposit  of  the 
kind  which  would  show  as  nearly  as  possible  the  conditions  under 
which  the  skeleton  was  found.  He  directed  that  the  hammer  be 
placed  in  what  was  unmistakably  loose  material  which  had  slumped 
down  from  above. 

The  writer  inquired  into  the  possibility  of  part  of  the  skeleton 
being  on  the  ledge  with  none  of  the  original  material  being  in  place 
over  it  and  part  being  in  the  undisturbed  stratified  material  of  the 
face  of  the  exposure.  Nothing  can  be  proved  as  to  this,  however, 
as  Mr.  Hunter  cannot  state  whether  it  was  necessary  to  dig  into  any 
of  the  undisturbed  stratified  material  as  he  did  not  take  critical  notice 
of  condition. 

It  seems  clear,  however,  from  Mr.  Hunter's  testimonj^  that  at  least 
a  greater  part  of  the  skeleton  was  found  in  loose  material  and  there  is 
no  evidence  to  prove  that  it  was  not  wholly  in  this  kind  of  material. 

The  position  of  the  skeleton  when  found  in  the  material  above  this 
clay  stratum  would  make  its  location  about  thirteen  feet  below  the 
top  of  the  exposure.  Allowing  for  about  two  feet  of  stripping  which 
has  taken  place  the  maximum  depth  from  the  original  surface  to  the 
place  where  the  skeleton  was  found  would  be  not  more  than  fifteen 
feet.  This  is  an  unusual  but  not  a  prohibitive  depth  for  interment 
and  there  is  no  evidence  here  to  prove  that  the  remains  were  not 
interred  in  these  deposits  at  this  depth.  It  seems  to  the  writer  more 
probable,  however,  that  the  remains  were  interred  at  a  less  depth 
than  this  and  that  together  with  the  material  in  which  they  were 
interred  they  had  slumped  down  from  above  and  lodged  on  the  ledge 
on  which  they  were  found. 

The  theory  of  the  interment  of  these  remains  is  further  strengthened 
by  several  other  circumstances.     Mrs.  Pamelia  White,  owner  of  the 


192  SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS 

land  in  question  and  who  has  lived  here  for  over  forty  years,  says  that 
when  she  first  came  to  this  place  that  there  were,  upon  the  site  where 
the  remains  were  found,  a  few  stones  rudely  shaped  like  tombstones 
and  set  in  the  ground  after  the  manner  of  placing  tombstones.  There 
were  some  marks  on  the  stones  but,  either  because  the  characters  were 
nearly  obliterated  by  time  or  because  they  were  characters  the  sig- 
nificance of  which  was  not  known,  nothing  could  be  learned  from  them. 
Nothing  was  known  concerning  the  history  of  these  stones  or  whether 
anyone  was  buried  there.  The  stones  were  subsequently  removed 
and  their  existence  all  but  forgotten. 

The  probability  of  several  people  being  buried  here  is  further 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  other  bones  have  been  found  in  the 
pit,  although  the  case  under  discussion  is  the  only  instance  of  the 
finding  of  a  nearly  complete  skeleton. 

However,  irrespective  of  the  suggestion  of  a  possible  burying  ground 
at  this  place,  there  seems  to  be  no  geological  evidence  in  this  case 
that  the  remains  were  deposited  in  the  fluvio-glacial  at  the  time  this 
material  was  laid  down  since  it  is  not  proved  that  the  remains  were 
found  in  undisturbed  material  and  overlain  by  undisturbed  fluvio- 
glacial  deposits.  On  the  other  hand  all  of  the  circumstances  point  to 
other  and  more  probable  solutions. 

The  writer  does  not  base  any  of  his  conclusions  upon  an  examination 
of  the  remains  themselves,  having  confined  his  investigations  wholly 
to  the  geological  conditions  under  which  the  remains  were  found. 

Immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  his  investigations  the  writer 
sent  a  brief  report  to  the  state  geologist  and  also  issued  a  statement 
to  the  press  to  the  effect  that  there  is  no  geological  evidence  whatever 
that  these  remains  are  of  Pleistocene  or  earlier  age. 

The  whole  affair  is  obviously  the  result  of  the  misguided  enthusiasm 
of  some  amateur  scientific  investigators  and  clever  press  agent  co- 
operation on  the  part  of  over-zealous  newspaper  writers. 

Department  of  Geology,  Leroy  Patton 

Muskingum  College 

As  a  finishing  touch  to  the  history  of  the  Zanesville  find  may  be 

quoted  a  part  of  the  last  letter  received  from  Dr. ,  which  reads 

thus: 

"The  first  article  in  our  local  paper  (The  Signal)  was  written  by  a  local  reporter 
(you  did  not  see  that  article)  in  which  it  stated  the  skeleton  was  found  in  Glacial 
drift  and  was  probably  20,000  years  old.  This  was  surmise  of  reporter  or  owner  of 
sand  bank.  After  the  appearance  of  that  article  I  examined  the  skull  and  measured 
it.     It  was  so  small  and  the  report  coming  from  the  man  who  dug  the  skeleton  out 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS 


193 


that  the  body  was  6  feet  long  made  me  surmise  that  the  skeleton  must  have  been 
something  unusual  \\'ith  such  a  verj'  small  skull  to  a  six  foot  body.  Also,  the  first 
report  was  that  the  body  was  30  feet  below  surface." 

The  case  represents  a  fortunate  occurrence  of  the  usual  initial 
exaggeration  by  newspapers  and  non-experts,  with  a  prompt,  sober, 
scientific  examination  of  conditions.  Had  some  less  qualified  persons 
become  interested  in  the  find  before  Professors  Patton  and  Mills 
could  reach  the  site  another  item  might  easily  have  been  added  to  the 
already  long  list  of  ambiguous  examples  by  which  a  geological 
antiquity  of  man  in  America  is  supported.  A.  H. 


INFLUENZA   AMONG   THE   AMERICAN   INDIANS 

By  the  Public  Health  Service 

The  following  tables  were  compiled  by  the  Public  Health  Service 
from  data  furnished  bj'  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs.     They 

Cases  of  Influexza  among  Indians,  Oct.  1,  1918,  to  June  30,  1919 


Population 


Arizona 

California 

Colorado 

Florida 

Idaho 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Michigan 

Minnesota.  .  .  . 
Mississippi .... 

Montana 

Nebra.ska 

Nevada 

New  Mexico .  .  . 

New  York 

North  Carolina . 
North  Dakota. 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

South  Dakota.  . 

Utah 

Washington.  .  . 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 


45,707 
16,416 

1,222 
585 

4,208 
356 

2,275 

1,097 
12,003 

1,253 
12,079 

2,834 
'11,190 
22,005 

5,982 

2,343 

9,216 
118,227 

4,355 
23,890 

1,704 
10,315 

9,696 

1,696 


9,390 
2,010 

333 
20 

243 
90 

625 

25 

1,311 

217 
1,111 

470 

848 
5,410 

400 

409 
1,631 
6,530 

661 
4,595 

201 

824 

1,601 

1 


7,847 
2,388 

157 
46 

407 
35 

235 
25 

741 

432 
1,021 

391 
2,746 
5,561 

400 

372 

718 
8,697 

436 
3,964 

281 

1,197 

1,109 

15 


17,237 

4,398 

490 

66 

650 

125 

860 

50 

2,052 

649 

2,132 

861 

3,594 

10,971 

800 

781 

2,349 

15,227 

1,097 

8,559 

482 

2,021 

2,710 

16 


Cases  per 
1,000  Pop- 
ulation 


377.1 

267.9 
401.0 
112.8 
154.5 
351.1 
378.0 
45.6 
171.0 
518.0 
176:5 
303.8 
321.2 
498.6 
133.7 
333.3 
254.9 
128.8 
251.9 
358.3 
282.9 
195.9 
279.5 
9.4 


Total I  320,654  !    38,956       39,221    I    78,177        243.8^ 


» Includes  estimate  of  3,000  unenrolled  Indians  in  Nevada  and  5,000  in  California 
belonging  to  the  Reno  Agency, 


194 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS   AND    REPORTS 


show  the  number  of  cases  of  influenza  reported  among  Indians  on  reser- 
vations in  the  United  States,  and  deaths  due  to  the  disease;  also 
morbidit}^,  mortality,  and  case  fatality  rates. — Publ.  Health  Rep^s, 
Oct.  17,  1919. 

Confirmation  of  reports  that  the  native  Indian  population  of  Bristol 
Bay,  Alaska,  virtually  was  wiped  out  by  an  epidemic  of  influenza  has 
been  brought  to  San  Francisco  with  the  return  of  the  United  States 
cruiser  Marblehead  from  a  relief  expedition  to  the  north. 

According  to  Lieut.  W.  R.  Leahy,  senior  medical  oflficer  of  the  ex- 
pedition, 95  per  cent  of  a  population  of  more  than  900  persons  had 
died  b}^  the  time  the  expedition  reached  Bristol  Bay. 


Deaths  from  influenza  among  Indians, 

October  1 

1918,  to  June  30,  1919 

Deaths 

State 

MlDors 

Adults 

Total 

Deaths 
per  1,000 
Population 

Fatalities 
per  100 
Cases 

Arizona                             

1,027 

123 

35 

3 

21 

5 

13 

1 

65 

18 

59 

26 

52 

635 

40 

25 

48 

330 

45 

365 

25 

89 

71 

0 

921 

133 

24 

7 

54 

4 

7 

1 

57 

43 

80 

34 

219 

610 

40 

12 

72 

531 

49 

390 

52 

83 

87 

1 

1,948 

256 

59 

10 

75 

9 

20 

2 

122 

61 

139 

60 

271 

1,245 

80 

37 

120 

861 

94 

755 

77 

172 

158 

1 

42.6 
15.6 
48.2 
17.1 
17.8 
25.3 
8.8 
1.8 
10.2 
48.7 
11.5 
21.2 
24.2 
56.6 
13.4 
15.8 
13.0 
7.3 
21.6 
31.6 
45.1 
16.7 
16.3 
.6 

11.3 

California 

5.8 

Colorado 

12.0 

Florida            

15.1 

Idaho                               

11.5 

Iowa 

7.2 

Kansas      

2.3 

Michigan                 

4.0 

Minnesota 

5.9 

Mississippi 

9.4 

Montana    

6.5 

Nebraska                          

6.9 

Nevada 

7.5 

New  Mexico 

11.3 

New  York 

10.0 

North  Carolina            

4.7 

North  Dakota 

5.1 

Oklahoma 

5.7 

Oregon    

8.6 

South  Dakota 

8.8 

Utah 

Washington 

Wisconsin 

15.9 

8.5 

5.8 

Wvomine    

6.3 

Total .  .  . . : 

3,121 

3,511 

6,632 

20.7 

8.5 

Tuberculosis  among  the  Natives  in  the  West  .Indies 

The  death-rate  from  tuberculosis  among  the  colored  population 
in  some  of  the  West  Indian  islands  has  in  the  past  been  exceedingly 
high.  The  persistent  efforts  of  the  white  residents  in  Trinidad, 
Tobago,  the   Guianas   and   elsewhere,  and  especially   the   organized 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS  195 

campaign  of  the  Association  for  Prevention  and  Treatment  of  Tuber- 
culosis, have  reduced  this  mortality  by  nearly  50  per  cent  since  1905; 
nevertheless  the  death-rate  from  the  disease  is  still  far  too  high,  being 
in  Trinidad  little  short  of  30  per  1000.  It  has  been  definitely  es- 
tablished however  that  the  West  Indian  native,  if  treated  on  rational 
lines  in  the  early  stages  of  the  disease,  seems  to  be  quite  as  capable  of 
recovery  as  is  the  British  patient. — Brit.  Med.  J.,  May  31,  1919, 
683. 

Sex  Determination 

In  an  effort  to  test  the  correctness  of  Dawson's  theory  that  sex  is 
determined  by  the  supplying  ovary,  males  being  produced  by  fertiliza- 
tion of  an  ovum  from  the  left  ovary,  Dr.  John  J.  Murray,  Jr.,  has  gone 
over  the  records  of  17,500  deliveries  which  occurred  in  the  Obstretric 
Clinic  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  between  September,  1896, 
and  March,  1918.  (Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  Bulletin,  December, 
1918,  pp.  275-281.)  There  were  75  cases  (70  women,  five  of  them 
having  two  pregnancies),  in  which  the  location  of  the  corpus  luteum 
was  determined  by  Caesarean  section,  by  laparotomy,  or  by  post 
mortem,  and  in  which  there  was  no  doubt  as  to  the  sex  of  the  child. 
Murray  found  that  "male  and  female  children  result  in  about  equal 
numbers  from  the  fertilization  of  ova  from  either  ovary"  and  that 
consequently  Dawson's  theory  is  proved  to  be  incorrect.  He  con- 
cludes that  "the  causation  of  sex  is  probably  not  due  to  any  factor  in 
the  unfertilized  ovum";  that  "the  'chromosome  theory'  must  be 
considered  the  only  explanation  of  sex  at  present  acceptable";  and 
that  "the  sex  of  an  unborn  child  cannot  be  foretold,  nor  can  either 
sex  be  produced  at  will,  by  any  rules  known  at  present." — Eugenical 
News,  June,  1919. 

It  may  be  recalled  in  this  connection  that  similar  results  were 
in  1911  obtained  experimentally  by  Dean  on  albino  rats:  Dean  (H, 
K.) — The  effects  of  semi-spaying  and  semi-castration  on  the  sex 
ratio  of  the  albino  rat.— J.  Exp.  Zool,  May,  1911,  X,  381-392. 

Heredity  in  Twins 

Professor  Kristine  Bonnevie  has  published  as  Contribution  No. 
2  from  the  University  (of  Christiana)  Institute  for  Investigation  in 
Heredity  a  paper  entitled  "On  Tvillingsfodslers  Arvelighet,"  or  "On 
the  Inheritance  of  Twin  Births."  A  certain  rural  family  shows  about 
three  times  the  normal  proportion  of  twin  births  in  a  population  of 


196 


SPECIAL    COMMUNICATIONS    AND    REPORTS 


about  5,000  individuals.  In  the  special  "twin  branches,"  the  pro- 
portion of  multiple  births  rises  to  7.7  per  cent,  or  six  times  the  average. 
The  author  concludes  that  among  younger  mothers,  below  30  years,  1- 
and  2-egg  twins  are  about  equally  numerous,  while  the  twins  borne 
by  older  mothers  are  practically  all  from  2  eggs.  The  proportion  of 
2-egg  twins  to  1-egg  twins  in  the  family  is  about  4:  1,  and  it  is  in 
double  egg  twin  births  that  inheritance  is  most  clearly  shown.  Out 
of  88  twin-producing  mothers,  67  (the  best  known)  are  without  ex- 
ception shown  to  descend  from  twin  families  through  both  parents 
or  through  the  one  parent  who  is  known.  "The  hereditary  nature  of 
the  disposition  for  double-egg  twin  births  is  thus  proved  without 
doubt.  Its  types  of  heredity  seem,  further,  to  be  that  of  a  recessive 
character,  demanding  for  its  manifestation  that  the  twin  mother  should 
receive  her  disposition  in  a  double  dose  through  both  her  parents. 
The  twins  seem,  among  their  brothers  and  sisters,  not  to  be  predis- 
posed to  twinning." — Eugenical  News,  Nov.,  1919. 


Mortality  of  Infants  of  Different  Racial  Groups 

In  the  New  England  Medical  Gazette,  vol.  52,  page  366,  Dr.  F.  H. 

MacCarthy  gives  the  following  table  of  death  rates  of  infants  under 

one  j^ear  per  thousand  births  from  the  three  principal  causes  of  in- 
fant mortality  grouped  according  to  nationality  of  mothers. 


Causes  of  Death 

u.  s. 

Canada 

Ireland 

Italy 

Russia  and 
Poland 

Congenital  debilitv 

36.37 
20.60 
13.09 

30.00 
14.63 
15.29 

26.08 
16.56 
12.83 

13.00 
19.58 
29.53 

20.00 

Gastro-enteritis 

15.78 

Pneumonia 

,     19.62 

1 

CURRENT  NOTES 

The  Anthropological  Society  of  St.  Louis. — On  January  2,  there  has 
been  organized  in  St.  Louis  The  Anthropological  Societij  of  St.  Louis. 
The  membership  of  the  Societ}^  consists  essentially  of  the  local  anatom- 
ists and  prominent  medical  men  interested  in  anthropological  research; 
but  its  interests  will  comprise  the  whole  field  of  anthropology.  Pro- 
fessor R.  J.  Terry  has  been  elected  the  first  President  of  the  Society. 

Mr.  George  G.  Heye,  director  of  the  Museum  of  the  American 
Indian,  Hej^e  Foundation,  announces  that  the  department  of  physical 
anthropology,  which  had  to  be  closed  during  the  period  of  the  war, 
has  again  resumed  active  work  under  the  direction  of  the  same  staff, 
namely,  Dr.  James  B.  Clemens  and  Dr.  Bruno  Oetteking.  The 
department  has  now  separate  housing  accommodations  at  11  St. 
Nicholas  Place,  corner  of  150th  Street,  which  suits  its  present  needs. 

Dr.  Hrdlicka  left  Washington  early  in  January  for  the  Far 
East,  in  the  interests  of  his  studies  on  the  origin  of  the  American 
Indian,  and  in  those  of  anthropological  work  in  China  and  Hawaii. 
He  expects  to  be  back  in  June.  The  Journal  will  meanwhile  be  in 
the  hands  of  Dr.  Gerrit  S.  Miller,  curator  of  the  Division  of  Mammals, 
U.  S.  National  Museum. 

As  the  Journal  was  going  to  press  it  became  known  that  the  XX 
International  Congress  of  Americanists,  which  was  to  have  met  at  Rio 
de  Janeiro  in  June  of  this  year,  has  been  indefinitely  postponed.  The 
reason  given  is  that  the  unsettled  world  conditions  prevent  European 
representatives  from  attending.  It  has  been  intimated  that  the  next 
Congress  will  meet  in  1922. 

Dr.'  A.  A.  Mendes  Correa,  formerly  assistant  of  the  faculty  of 
science  of  the  University  of  Oporto  where  he  was  teaching  anthropology 
since  1912,  has  been  some  time  ago  proposed  by  the  faculty  for  the 
vacant  place  of  ordinary  professor.  A  faculty  of  letters  having  been 
lately  founded  in  the  University,  Dr.  Mendes  Correa  was  named 
ordinary  professor  of  the  new  faculty  for  the  group  of  geographical 
sciences  which  include  anthropology. 

From  the  daily  press  we  learn  that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Gustaf  Dolinder, 
the  former  a  leading  Swedish  scientist,  sailed  for  South  America  early 
in  January.  They  expect  to  remain  one  year,  engaged  in  general 
ethnographic  and  archeological  investigations;  considerable  attention 
will  later  be  devoted  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  Magdalen  River  region. 

197 

Amer.  Jour.  Phys.  Anthrop.,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1. 


198  CURRENT   NOTES 

Dr.  Franz  Boas  late  in  December  tendered  his  resignation  as  one  of 
the  representatives  of  the  American  Anthropological  Association  on 
the  Committee  of  Anthropology  and  Psychology  of  the  National  Re- 
search Council. 

Ludicig  Stieda.'^ — Belated  German  periodicals  bring  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  death  of  Dr.  L.  S.  Stieda,  emeritus  professor  of 
anatomy  at  the  Konigsberg  University.  He  died  in  1918,  in  his 
eighty-second  year.  Physical  anthropology  owes  a  debt  to  Professor 
Stieda  for  his  lifelong  interest  in  the  science,  and  for  his  very  useful 
annual  reviews  of  Russian  anthropological  literature,  published  period- 
ically for  many  years  in  the  Archiv  fitr  Anthropologie. 

Richard  Lynch  Garner.^ — Professor  Garner,  who  was  widely  known 
through  his  investigations  among  the  anthropoid  apes,  died  suddenly 
at  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  on  January  23,  1920.  He  was  an  indefati- 
gable worker,  and  has  contributed  greatly  to  our  knowledge  of  the  life 
and  habits  of  the  apes. 

Horatio  C.  Wood.>^ — Science  reports  the  death,  on  January  3.  of 
Horatio  C.  Wood,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  emeritus  professor  of  materia  medica, 
pharmacy  and  general  therapeutics  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
Medical  School. 

Notes  from  the  Far  East 

Dr.  J.  G.  Andersson,  of  the  Chinese  Geological  Survey,  has  loaned 
a  number  of  human  skeletons  from  Chihli  Province  excavations  to  the 
anthropological  department  of  the  Peking  Union  Medical  College. 
Dr.  E.  H.  Tang,  president  of  the  Government  Special  Medical  School 
in  Peking,  has  also  loaned  his  valuable  series  of  Chihli  Province  crania 
to  the  anthropological  department  of  the  college. 

Pere  Florent  De  Preter,  of  the  Belgian  Mission  at  Chin-Chow, 
who  has  been  decorated  by  the  Chinese  government  for  his  ethnological 
work  in  Manchuria,  has  recently  visited  Peking.  Ai-rangements  for 
the  despatch  of  an  expedition  by  the  department  of  anthropology, 
P.  U.  M.  C,  to  investigate  the  cave  burials  in  the  vicinity  of  Chin-Chow 
have  been  greatly  facilitated  by  Pere  De  Preter's  cordial  cooperation. 

Mr.  Roy  C.  Andrews,  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
has  obtained  a  number  of  human  crania  from  the  vicinity  of  Urga. 
Mr.  Andrews  experienced  the  greatest  difficulty  in  collecting  and 
transporting  this  material  owing  to  the  present  unsettled  condition  of 
that  part  of  Mongolia. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  GEORGE  M.  KOBER,  M.D.,  LL.D. 

Dean  and  Professor  of  Hygiene,  School  of  Medicine, 

Georgetown  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 

1874 
Infantile  parah'sis.     Pacific  Med.  and  Surg.  Jour.,  San  Francisco,  1874,  xvi,  261-273. 
Urinologj'  and  its  practical  application,  etc.     In:    Richmond  and  Louisville  M.  J., 
Louis^dlle,  1874,  xviii,  229-256,  2  pi.;  357-387,  pi.;  tables;  469-490;  580-609. 

1875 
Chronic  dysentery  treated  with  injections  of  chlorate  of  potassa.     Am.  Med.  Weekly, 

Louisville,  1875,  iii,  241-242. 
Adenitis  treated  with  injections  of  carbolic  acid  and  glycerine.     Am.  Med.  Weekly, 

Louis^alle,  1875,  in,  241. 
Muriate  of  ammonia  in  neuralgia.     Am.  Med.  Weekly,  LouisAalle,  1875,  in,  242. 
Incontinence  of  urine  treated  with  chloral  hydrate  and  belladonna.     A.  Med.  Weekly, 

Louisville,  1875,  in,  243. 
Tincture  of  iron  and  digitahs  in  dropsy.     Am.  Med.  Weekly,  Louisville,  1875,  in,  243. 

1876 
Report  of  a  case  of  gunshot  wound  of  the  knee  joint  and  right  hand  treated  with 
antiseptic  injections  of  iodine  and  carboUc  acid.     Am.  J.  M.  Sc,  Phila.,  1876, 
n.s.,  Lxxn,  427-431. 

1877 
Die  Kriegs-Chirurgie  der  letzten  150  Jahre  in  Preussen.     A  review  of  Prof.  E. 
Gurlt's  oration.     Am.  J.  M.  Sc,  Phila.,  1877,  n.s.,  lxxiv,  226-227. 

1878 
Analysis  of  the  Medical  and  Surgical  History  of  the  War  of  the  RebeUion  1861-1865; 
part  2,  volume  2;    being  the  Second  Surgical  Volume.     Washington,  D.  C, 
1876,  4°,  1024,  XVI  pages.     Militararzt,  1878,  xxviii,  21-23;   xxix,  6-8;    126- 
127;   141-145;   150-152;   157-158;   165-166;   173-176. 

(In  this  review,  the  reviewer  placed  himself  on  the  side  of  the  innovators 
and  vigorously  combated  the  objections  of  Prof.  Ashhurst,  Hamilton  and 
others  to  enterorrhaphy  without  visceral  protrusion.) 

1881 
Die  Gelenk-Resectionen  nach  Schussverletzungen ;   ihre  Geschichte,  Statistik,  End- 
Resultate,  von  Prof.  E.  Gurlt.     Berlin,  1879,  1333  pp.     Review  in:  Am.  J.  M. 
Sc,  Phila.,  1881,  n.s.,  lxxxi,  457-i61. 

1885 
Report  on  the  topography,  botany,  climatology  and  diseases  of  Surprise  and  Goose 
Lake  Valleys.     31  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:    Report  of  State  Board  of  Health  of 

199 

Amer.  Jonn.  Phvb.  Anthkop.,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1. 


200  BIBLIOGRAPHY^    GEORGE    M.    KOBER 

California,  Sacramento,  1885,  ix.     (See  editorials:   Med.  Rec,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  11 
and  Dec.  13,  1886.) 

1889 
Lectures  on  hygiene.     48  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:  South.  Clinic,  Richmond,  1889. 

1890 

The  etiology  and  prevention  of  tuberculosis.     8  p.  8°.     Sacramento,  1890.     Repr. 

from:  Report  of  State  Board  of  Health  of  California,  Sacramento,  1890,  xi. 
A  contribution  to  the  etiology  of  typhoid  fever.     7  p.  8°.     Berlin,  L.  Schumacher, 

1891.     Repr.   from:    Verhandl.   d.   X.   Internat.   Med.   Congr.,    1890,   Berlin, 

1891,  V. 
Referat  iiber  eine  von  H.  Remondino,  San  Diego,  eingesandte  Arbeit:  Ueber  Meteor- 

ologie  und  Khma  des  sudlichen  Cahfornien  in  Bezug  auf  Leben  und  Gesundheit. 

Deutsche  med.  Zeitung,  Berl.,  1890,  724. 

1891 

SyphiUs  and  prostitution.     Virginia  Med.  Month.,  Richmond,  1891,  xviii,  85-89. 

1892 

The  etiologj'  and  prevention  of  infectious  diseases.     18  p.  8°.     Richmond,  1892. 
Repr.  from:  Virginia  Med.  Month.,  Richmond,  1892-1893,  xix. 

1893 

Laparotom}^  for  wounds  of  the  peritoneal  ca\^tJ^     Med.  Rec.,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  21,  1893. 
The  etiologj',  distribution  and  prevention  of  land  and  ship  cholera.     6  p.  8°.     Repr. 

from:   Proc.  State  San.  Convent.,  Sacramento,  1893,  i.     Also:    Virginia  Med. 

Month.,  Richmond,  1893-4,  xx,  133-152. 

1894 

A  plea  for  the  prevention  of  tuberculosis.     12  p.  8°.     Repr.  from :   Proc.  State  San. 

Convent.,  Sacramento,  1894,  ii. 
A  study  of  soil  in  relation  to  health  and  disease.     29  p.  8°.     Richmond,  1894.     Repr. 

from:   Virginia  Med.  Month.,  Richmond,  1894-5,  xxi. 
A  study  of  water  in  relation  to  health  and  disease.     37  p.  8°.     Repr,  from:   Rep. 

State  Bd.  Health  Calif.,  Sacramento,  1894,  xiii. 

1895 

Impure  milk  in  relation  to  infantile  mortality.     15  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:  J.  Am.  M. 

Ass.,  Chicago,  1895,  xxv. 
A  plea  for  vaccination.     16  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:   Virginia  Med.  Month.,  Richmond, 

1895-96,  XXII. 
Max  Bartel :  Die  Medicin  der  Naturvolker,  ethnologische  Beitrage  zur  Urgeschichte 

der  Medicin.     Leipzig,  1893.     (A  review,  with  a  condensation  of  the  subject 

matter  on  primitive,  minor  and  major  surgery.)     Repr.  from:    Virginia  Med. 

Month.,  Richmond,  1895-96,  xxii. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY,    GEORGE    M.    KOBER  201 

Report  of  the  prevalence  of  t>T)hoid  fever  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Report  of 
the  Health  Officer  of  District  of  Columbia,  1895,  254-292.  Also:  Abstracts  of 
Sanitarj-  Reports  of  the  Marine  Hospital  SerA-ice,  December,  1895,  1157-1203. 
Also:  Editorials  Med.  Rec,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  22,  1896,  267. 

Morbific  and  infectious  milk  (with  S.  C.  Busey).  Report  of  the  Health  Officer  of 
District  of  Columbia,  1895,  299-378.  Also:  Public  HeaUh  Reports,  Feb.  14, 
1896,  118-131.  Also:  Editorials  /.  Am.  M.  Ass.,  Chicago,  March  7,  1896,  487; 
Med.  Rec,  X.  Y.,  Apr.  18,  1896,  557;  Am.  Med.-Surg.  Bull,  N.  Y.,  May  23, 
1896,  694. 

1896 

A  study  of  milk  in  relation  to  health  and  disease.     51  p.  8°.     Sacramento,  1896. 

Repr.  from :  The  14th  Biennial  Report  State  Board  of  Health. 
Opium  habit  in  the  District  of  Columbia.     U.  S.  54th  Congress,     2d  Session. 

Senate  Document  174,  January  21,  1897. 
Report  of  the  Editorial  Committee  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1896,  3. 
Trachoma  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1896,  11. 
Milk  bacteria  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1896,  99. 
Diphtheria  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1896,  111. 
Skin  diseases  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1896,  120. 

1897 

Relations  of  water  supply  and  sewers  to  the  health  of  cities  with  special  reference 

to  the  City  of  Washington.     PubUc  Health  Reports,  Wash.,  1897,  xii,  197-200. 
The  place  of  miUtary  medicine  and  surgery  in  the  medical  college  curriculum.     Repr. 

from:  Proc.  Ass.  Mil.  Surgeons,  U.  S.,  CarHsle,  Pa.,  1897,  vii. 
Predisposition  and  immunitj'.     7  p.  8°.     New  York,  1897.    Repr.  from :  Praci.  iWed., 

N.  Y.,  1897,  VIII.  * 

Prevention  of  puerperal  fever.     16  p.  8°.     Richmond,  1897.     Repr.  from:   Virginia 

M.  Semi-Month.,  Richmond,  1897,  i. 
The  progress  and  achievements  of  hygiene.     (Address  before  the  Anthropological 

Society  of  Wasliington.)     12  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:  Science,  N.  Y.,  1897,  n.s.,  vi. 
Sj-philis  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1897,  9. 

Scurvy  and  rickets  in  children  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1897,  27. 
Bubonic  plague  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1897,  56-57. 
Malarial  diseases  in  the  District  of  Columbia  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist. 

Col,  1897,  73-75. 
Neurasthenia  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1897,  207. 

1898 

Higher  medical  education  and  a  plea  for  better  training  of  the  volunteer  medical 
officer.     5  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:   Virginia  M.  Semi-Month.,  Richmond,  1893,  ixi. 

Water  supply  and  sewage  disposal  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  U.  S.  55th  Congress, 
2d  Session.     Senate  Document  183,  February,  1898,  16-25. 

Pollution  of  rivers.  U.  S.  55th  Congress.  2d  Session.  Senate  Document  194, 
March,  1898,  32-40. 

Arthritis  deformans  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1898,  14. 


202  BIBLIOGRAPHY,    GEORGE    M.    KOBER 

Typhoid  fever  (Discussion).     Tram.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1898,  47-54. 
Gangrene  of  eyelids  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1898,  109. 
Hydrophobia  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1898,  113. 
Malarial  fever  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1898,  117. 
Expectorants  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1898,  120. 
Ruptured  spleen  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1898,  163. 

1899 

Many  of  the  causes  of  so  called  school  diseases  found  in  the  home.  U.  S.  55th  Con- 
gress,    3d  Session.     Senate  Document  65,  February,  1899,  40-43. 

Sarcoma  of  the  testicles;  conclusions  based  upon  one  hundred  and  fourteen  cases. 
18  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:  Am.  J.  M.  Sc,  Phila.,  May,  1899,  cxvii. 

The  effects  of  modern  fire  arms  in  war.  (Address  before  a  joint  meeting  of  the 
Anthropological  and  Medical  Societies  of  Washington.)  6  p.  8°.  Repr.  from: 
Nat.  Med.  Rev.,  Wash.,  October,  1899,  ix. 

Filtration,  the  pollution  of  streams  and  the  purification  of  public  water  suppUes, 
U.  S.  56th  Congress,  1st  Session.     Senate  Document,  1900,  8  p. 

Protest  from  the  ci\dc  center  of  the  District  of  Columbia  against  the  passage  of 
Senate  Bill  No.  34,  providing  for  the  further  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals 
(Vivisection  Hearings).     U.  S.  56th  Congress.     Senate  Document,  101-111. 

Report  on  the  housing  of  the  laboring  classes  in  the  City  of  Washington,  D.  C. 
Repr.  from:  Report  of  the  Health  Officer  of  District  of  Columbia,  1899,  107-121, 
1  plate. 

The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  graduation  in  medicine  of  Doctor  Samuel  Clagett 
Busey,  compiled  and  edited  by  George  M.  Kober,  63  p.  ports.  4°.  Washing- 
ton, 1899.     ("Dr.  Busey,  physician,  author  and  teacher,"  37-42.) 

Texas  fever  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1899,  3. 

Malaria  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1899,  19. 

Medico-mihtary  affairs  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1899,  24. 

Milk  laboratories  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1899,  36;   145. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  longevity  (Discussion).  Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col, 
1899,  103. 

Uric  acid  diathesis  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1899,  110. 

Convulsions  in  typhoid  fever  (Discussion).  Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1899, 
153. 

Knee-joint-shot-injuries  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1899,  160. 

Katatonia  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1899,  181. 

1900 

Shall  alcohol  be  considered  as  a  food?  7  p.  8°.  Repr.  from:  Virginia  M.  Semi- 
Month.,  1900,  V. 

Conclusions  based  upon  330  outbreaks  of  infectious  diseases  spread  through  the 
milk  supply,  6  p.  8°.  Read  before  Section  of  Epidemiology  and  hygiene, 
13th  Internat.  Med.  Congress,  Paris,  August  4,  1900.  Repr.  from  :  Am.  J.  M. 
Sc,  Phila.,  1901,  cxxi. 

Army  nursing  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1900,  18. 

Tuberculosis  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1900,  66;  71. 

Remarks  on  science  building.     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1900,  106. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY;    GEORGE   M.    KOBER  203 

Therapeutic  effects  of  sunlight  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1900,173. 
Paragonimus  Westermanni  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1900,  179. 
Tj-phoid  fever  infection  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1900,  182. 
Smallpox  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1900,  189. 
Gunshot  injuries  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1900,  214. 

1901 

The  need  of  addi  tional  playgrounds,  parks  and  reservations.     U.  S.  Senate  Committee 

on  District  of  Columbia,  March  27,  1901. 
The  pollution  of  streams  and  the  purification  of  public  water  suppUes;  comparative 

efficiency  of  slow  sand  and  mechanical  filters.     8  p.,  1  table.  8°.     Repr.  from: 

J.  Am.  M.  Ass.,  Chicago,  1901,  xxxvi. 
The  progress  and  tendency  of  hygiene  and  sanitary  science  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

(Oration  on  State  Medicine  delivered  before  the  meeting  of  the  American 

Medical  Association,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  1901.)    31  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:  J.Am.M. 

Ass.,  Chicago,  1901,  xxxvi.     Also:  N.  Y.  M.  J.,  June  8,  1901,  991;  Med.  Rec, 

N.  Y.,  June  8,  1901,  898;  and  also:  Lancet,  London. 
Recent  books  on  hygiene  (a  review).    6  p.,  roy".  8°.    Repr.  from:  Science,  N.  Y.,  1901, 

n.s.,  XIV. 
Sudden  death  after  gastroenterostomy  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col., 

1901,  26. 
Gonorrhea  in  women  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1901,  38. 
Filtration  of  the  municipal  water  supply  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col., 

1901,  55;  68. 
Tapeworm  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1901,  95. 
Cancer  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1901,  105. 
Obituary  on  Dr.  James  W.  H.  Lovejoy.     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col.,  1901,  125. 
Report  of  the  Editing  Committee  of  the  Medical  Society.     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist. 

Col,  1901,  137. 
SypliiUs  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1901,  159. 
Report  of  Prof.  Waldcj'er's  visit  to  Washington.     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1901, 

251. 
Uncinariasis  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1901,  270. 
Diphtheria  (Discussion).     Trans.  Med.  Soc.  Dist.  Col,  1901,  302. 

1902 

Butter  and  butter  substitutes  and  their  relation  to  health  and  disease.  Abnormal 
milk  and  mUk-borne  diseases.  Statement  before  the  Committee  on  Agriculture, 
House  of  Representatives,  U.  S.,  Tuesday,  January  14,  1902,  p.  37-135,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

Milk,  butter  and  butter  substitutes  (read  before  the  Am.  Social  Sc.  Ass.,  April  24, 
1902).     Repr.  from:  A?n.  Med.,  Philadclpliia,  1902,  iii,  1085-1089. 

The  causation  of  di.sca.se.     63  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:   Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1902,  i. 

Review  of  five  text-books  on  hygiene.     Science,  1902,  218-227. 

Report  of  the  Executive  Conunittec  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia on  the  proposed  consoUdation  of  the  medical  work  in  the  District  Govern- 
ment.    Wash.  Med.  A/i«.,  April  2,  1902. 

House-sanitation.     Rcf.  Handb.,  M.  Sc,  2d  ed.,  N.  Y.,  1902,  iv,  750-769- 


204  BIBLIOGRAPHY,    GEORGE   M.    KOBER 

Milk  in  relation  to  public  health.  Milk-borne  diseases.  Ref.  Handh.,  M.  Sc,  2.  ed., 
N.  Y.,  1902,  V,  833-843.     See  also:  Rev.  ed.,  1914. 

Milk  in  relation  to  pubUc  health.  The  necessity  for  the  enactment  of  Senate  BOl 
entitled  "A  bill  to  regulate  the  production  and  sale  of  milk  and  cream  in  and 
for  the  District  of  Columbia."  U.  S.  59th  Congress,  1st  Session.  Senate 
Document  441.  235  p.,  15  plates.  8°.  Wasliington,  Govt.  Print.  Off.,  1902. 
See  also:  Editorials  J.  Am.  M.  Ass.,  1902,  1397;  Phila.  M.  J.,  1902,  653;  Med. 
Rec,  N.  Y.,  1902,  897. 

The  etiology  of  intermittent  fever  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1902,  25-26. 

Causation  of  disease  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1902,  62. 

Obituary  on  Dr.  W.  W.  Johnston.     Wash.  Med,  Ann.,  1902,  171. 

1903 

The  canteen.     22  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:  Am.  Med.,  Phila.,  1903,  vi. 

The  transmission  of  bovine  tuberculosis  by  milk,  with  a  tabulation  of  eighty-six  cases. 

26  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:   Trans.  Ass.  Ayn.  Physicians,  1903. 
Obituarj'  on  Dr.  Walter  Reed.     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  January,  1903. 
The  Uver  as  a  factor  in  the  cause  and  prevention  of  disease  (Discussion).     Wash. 

Med.  Ann..  May,  1903,  99. 
Drug  adulterations  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  July,  1903,  226-227. 
Human  and  animal  tuberculosis  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  July,  1903,  246- 

247. 
Chronic  bronchitis  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Sept.,  1903,  184. 

1904 

A  review  of  the  work  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia  during  the 

past  eighty-five  years.     (President's  address.)     Repr.  from:   Wash.  Med.  Ann., 

1904,  II. 
A  plea  for  a  standard  medical  curriculum  (read  before  the  Association  of  American 

Medical  Colleges).     Repr.  from:  J.  Am.  M.  Ass.,  Chicago,  August  13,  19'04. 
Rheumatoid  arthritis  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1904,  482. 
Surgical  methods  among  savage  races  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  March,  1904, 

73. 
Scarlet  fever  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Julj',  1904,  205. 
Obstetrics  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  July,  1904,  218. 
Dehrium  tremens  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Nov.  1904,  357. 

1905 

The  physical  and  physiological  effects  of  child  labor.     Address  delivered  at  the 

Meeting  of  the  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Washington.    4  p.  8°.     New 

York,  1905. 
Suggestions  concerning  the  administrative  control  of  venereal  diseases.     7  p.  8°. 

Repr.  from:  J.  Am.  M.  Ass.,  Chicago,  March  11,  1905. 
Report  of  the  committee  on  national  uniformity  of  curricula  of  the  Association  of 

American  Medical  Colleges.     6  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:   J.  Am.  M.  Ass.,  Chicago, 

1905. 
Etiology  of  appendicitis  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1905,  427. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY,    GEORGE   M.    KOBER  205 

Caesarian  section  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Mar.,  1905,  87. 

Rational  versus  empirical  therapeutics  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  July,  1905, 

204. 
Modern  treatment  of  tuberculosis  (Discussion),     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Sept.,  1905,  254. 
Senile  cataract  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Nov.,  1905,  295. 
Smallpox  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Nov.,  1905,  313. 

1906 

Our  LL.D.'s  response  to  a  toast  at  the  banquet  of  alumni,  Georgetown  UniversitVj 

June  4,  1906.     In :  Georgetown  College  Journal. 
The  health  of  the  City  of  Washington.     (President's  address  of  the  Anthropological 

Society  of  Washington.)     14    p.    8°.     Repr.    from:     Charities   and    Commons, 

N.  Y.,'  March  3,  1906. 
The  prevention  and  treatment  of  tuberculosis  by  state  methods.     Pan-Am.  Med. 

Congr.,  Panama,  1906,  ii,  249-258. 
Washington  Filtration  Plant.     Discussion  on  water  filtration.     Proc.  of  Soc.  Civil 

Engineers,  1906,  xxxii,  959-961. 
President's  address  at  the  meeting  of  the  Association  of  American  Medical  Colleges. 

Proc.  Ass.  Am.  Med.  Colleges,  1906. 
President's  address  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1906,  336. 
Gastric  ulcer  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1906,  359. 
Diseases  among  Indians  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1906,  386. 
Appendicitis  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Mar.,  1906,  8. 
Protozoal  human  parasites  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Mar.,  1906,  54. 
Therapy  of  pulmonary  consumption  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  May,  1906,  82. 
Eye  cases  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  May,  1906,  86. 

Obituary  on  Dr.  Louis  Mackall  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Sept.,  1906,  212. 
Ophthalmology  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  An7i.,  Nov.,  1906,  266. 

1907 

Die  Herstellung  reiner  Milch  fiir  kleine  Kinder  in  Washington.     Repr.  from:  Ztschr. 

f.  Sduglingsfursorge,  Leipz.,  1906-7,  i,  375-380. 
Arbeit erwohnungen  in  Washington.     Internat.  Kongr.  f.  Hygiene  u.  Demographie, 

Berlin,  September  23-29,  1907,  XIV.  Ber.,  1908,  iv,  339-345. 
Unterbringung  von  schwerkranken  Schwindsiichtigen  und  der  Luftkur  bediirftigen 

leichtkranken  Tuberkulosen  in  einem  und  demselben  Krankenhause.     Internat. 

Kongr.  f.  Hygiene,  etc.,  Berlin,  September  23-29,  1907,  XIV.  Ber.,  iv,423^33. 
The  history  and  development  of  the  housing  movement  in  the  City  of  Washington, 

D.  C.     64  p.  8°.  1907.     (See  editorial  J.  Am.  M.  Ass.,  Feb.  27,  1909.) 
The  combat  of  scientific  medicine  with  superstition  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann., 

Jan.,  1907,  335. 
Report  of  tuberculosis  cases  treated  at  Starmont  Sanatorium  (Discussion).     U'as/i. 

Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1907,  345. 
Obituary  on  Dr.  David  Henry  Hazen.     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1907,  410. 
Tuberculosis  (Remarks).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1907,  422-425. 
Schott  treatment  of  chronic  diseases  of  the  heart  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann., 

Mar.,  1907,  27. 
Medical  inspection  of  schools  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Mar.,  1907,  45-46. 
Naval  medical  service.     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1907,  282;  290;  380. 


206  BIBLIOGRAPHY,    GEORGE   M.    KOBER 

Sanitary  milk  production.  Report  of  a  Conference  appointed  bj-  the  Commissioners 
of  the  District  of  Cohimbia.  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Circular  No.  114, 
August  20,  1907. 

1908 

Industrial  and  personal  hygiene.     A  report  as  chairman  of  a  Committee  on  social 

betterment  of  the  President's  Home  Commission,  Washington,  D.  C,  1908. 

175  p.  8°.     (See  Editorials:    J.  Am.  M.  Ass.,  Chicago,  1909,  138;    Boston  M. 

and  S.  J.,  1908,  448;   Bull.  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  75,  Wash.,  1908.) 
Hygiene  and  public  health;   a  review  of  Prof.  Louis  C.  Parkes'  textbook.     Science, 

1908,  n.s.,  XXVIII,  924-92G. 
The  Tuberculosis  Hospital  in  Washington,  D.  C.     6  p.  4  i)lates.  4°.     Washington, 

1908. 
Conservation  of  hfe  and  health  by  improved  water  supply.     Address  deUvered  at  the 

Conference  on  the  conservation  of  natural  resources,  White  House,  Washington, 

May  13-15,  1908.     51  p.  8°. 
Address  deUvered  at  the  complimentary  banquet  to  Surgeon  General  George  M. 

Sternberg  on  his  70th  birthday,  June  8,  1908.     30  p.  8°. 
The  fight  against  tuberculosis  in  various  countries.     Opening  discussion.     Sixth 

Internat.  Cong,  on  Tuberculosis,  Washington,  D.  C,  September  28  to  October 

5,  1908,  IV,  pt.  1,  105-110. 
Pterygium  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1908,  432. 
Internal  medicine  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Jan.,  1908,  450. 
Report  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Health.     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Mar.,  1908,  30. 
The  causes  of  typhoid  fever  in  the  District  of  Columbia.     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Mar., 

1908,  98-103. 
Acid-intoxication  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  May,  1908,  147. 
Principles  of  aseptic  surgery  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  May,  1908,  186. 
Snake-poisoning  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  July,  1908,  276. 
Obituary  on  Anne  H.  Wilson.     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  July,  1908,  284-286. 
Appendicitis  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Sept.,  1908,  307. 
Congratulations  extended  by  the  Medical  Society  to  Dr.  Kober  on  his  Wliite  House 

address.     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  Sept.,  1908,  315. 

1909 

Report  of  the  committee  on  social  betterment.  President's  Home  Commission, 
Washington,  D.  C.  278  p.  8°.  Also:  U.  S.  60th  Congress,  2d  Session. 
Senate  Document  644,  January  8,  1909.  (See  Editorials:  J.  Am.  M.  Ass., 
Chicago,  1909,  895;  also;  April  24,  1909.) 

Contents  oj  the  report  on  social  betterment:  AUmentation  and  foods.  Food  and 
home  betterment.  The  causation  and  prevention  of  disease.  Infant  mortality. 
The  prevention  of  permanent  disabihties  in  childhood.  Sexual  and  moral 
prophylaxis.  The  tobacco  habit.  The  alcohol  question.  Patent  and  proprie- 
tary compounds  containing  sufficient  alcohol  to  be  intoxicants.  The  drug  habit. 
The  nostrum  evil  in  general.  Sociological  studies  of  1,251  famiUes.  The  scale 
of  wages  and  the  cost  of  living.     Suppression  of  usury. 

Review  of  hygiene  and  sanitary  science  (read  before  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  April  14,  1909.)  Repr.  from:  Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  viii. 
No.  3. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY,    GEORGE   M.    KOBER  207 

The  influence  of  sewers  and  general  sanitation  upon  the  prevalence  of  tuberculosis. 

Repr.  from:  Johns  Hopkins  Hosp.  Bull.,  1909,  xx. 
Civics  and  health:  review  of  Prof.  Allen's  book.     In:  Chanties,  N.  Y.,  1909. 
The  general  movement  of  typhoid  fever  and  tuberculosis  in  the  last  thirty  years. 

Tr.  Ass.  Am.  Phys.,  1909.     Also:  Am.  J.  M.  Sc,  Philadelpliia,  November,  1909. 
Pture  food  and  drugs.     Bull.  Vermont  State  Board  of  Health,  December,  1909,  No.  2. 
Eczema  in  children  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Anv.,  1909-10,  viii,  428. 
Gall  stones  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  A7in.,  1909-10,  viu,  436. 
Case  of  acute  yellow  atrophy  of  the  hver  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1909-10, 

VIII,  124. 
Obituary  on  Doctor  Robert  Reyburn,     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1909-10,  viii,  141-142. 
Re\aew  of  hygiene  and  sanitary  science.     Wctsh.  Med.  Ann.,  1909-10,  viii,  167-181. 

Discussion,  184. 
A  plea  for  a  more  hberal  diet  in  tjT^hoid  fever  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann., 

1909-10,  VIII,  199. 
Flexible  instruments  in  urethral  stricture  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1909-10, 

\^II,  210.     • 
Prevention  of  ear  infection  in  scarlet  fever  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1909-10, 

vin,  238. 

1910 

The  influence  of  pure  water  and  air  upon  the  health  of  communities.     Bull.  Vermont 

Slate  Board  of  Health,  March,  1910,  No.  3. 
Review  of  some  recent  hterature  with  special  reference  to  anti-typhoid  vaccination, 

the  hygiene  of  medical  cases,  transmission  of  disease  by  insects.     Bull.  Vermont 

State  Board  of  Health,  June,  1910,  No.  3. 
Statement  before  Senate  Committee  on  Public  Health  concerning  the  creation  of  a 

Department  of  Health.    June,  1910. 
Diseases  which  menace  pubHc  health  and  morals  (read  at  the  twelfth  annual  school 

for  the  instruction  of  health  oflBcers.)     Repr.  from:   Bidl.  Vermont  State  Board 

of  Health,  1910,  xi. 
Miliv  in  relation  to  public  health.     Bull.  State  Board  of  Health,  CaUfornia,  1910. 
The  dissemination  of  disease  by  dairy  products  and  methods  of  prevention.     U.  S. 

Dept.  Agriculture,  Bur.  Animal  Industry,  Circular  153,  April  28,  1910.      Re- 
view:  Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1910,  324-327. 
Dispensary  tuberculosis  work  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1909-10,  viii,  370- 

371. 
Thymol  in  uncinariasis  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1910-11,  ix,  41. 
Measles  and  mice  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1910-11,  ix,  60. 
Obituary  on  Dr.  Thomas  Taylor.     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1910-11,  ix,  78-80. 
The  written  law  in  reference  to  the  unborn  child  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann., 

1910-11,  IX,  160. 
Digestion  in  fever  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ajin.,  1910-11,  ix,  401. 

1911 

The  hygiene  of  schools  and  the  prevention  of  permanent  disabililics  in  children. 
Lecture  before  the  thirteenth  annual  school  of  instruction  for  health  officers, 
Burlington,  Vt.,  August  21,  1911.  Bull.  Vermont  Stale  Board  of  Health,  xii, 
No.  1. 


208  BIBLIOGRAPHY,    GEORGE   M.    KOBER 

Pernicious  anemia  (Discussion).  Tr.  Ass.  Am.  Pliysicians,  Philadol])liia,  1911, 
XXVI,  294. 

Toxicitj'^  of  alcoholic  beverages  (Discussion).  Tr.  Ass.  Am.  Physicians,  Philadelphia, 
1911,  xxvr,  66. 

The  prevalence  and  control  of  venereal  diseases.  Tr.  Ass.  Aiti.  Physicians,  Phila- 
delphia, 1911,  XXVI,  155-165. 

Use  of  vaccines  in  gonorrheal  arthritis  restoring  the  power  of  locomotion  (Discussion). 
Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1911-12,  x,  11. 

Use  of  tincture  of  iodine  as  an  injection  in  gvuishot  wounds  (Discussion).  Wash. 
Med.  Ann.,  1911-12,  x,  165;   179. 

1912 

The  management  and  control  of  infectious  diseases.     Lecture  before  the  fourteenth 

annual  school  of  instruction  for  health  officers.     Bvll.  Vermont  Stale  Board  of 

Health,  1912,  xii.  No.  4. 
The  venereal  peril.     Lecture  before  the  fifteenth  annual  school  of  instruction  for 

health  officers.     Bidl.  Verviont  Stale  Board  of  Health,  1912,  xiii,  No.  1. 
The  hygiene   of  occupations    (Chairman's   address).     Tr.   XVth   Internat.    Cong. 

Hygiene  and  Demography,  Washington,  1912. 
The  management  and  control  of  smallpox  and  other  eruptive  fevers.     Lecture 

before  the  fifteenth  annual  school  of  instruction  for  health  officers.     Bull.  Vermont 

State  Board  of  Health,  1912,  xiii,  No.  1. 
Tuberculosis  as  a  disease  of  the  masses.     Ibid. 
Psychopathic  w^ork  at  the  Washington  Asylum  Hospital  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med. 

Ann.,  1911-12,  x,  240. 
Typhoid  and  venereal  prophylaxis  in  the  United  States  Armj^  (Discussion).     Wash. 

Med.  Ann.,  1911-12,  x,  265-266. 
Rickets  and  tuberculosis  among  Indians  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1912,  xi, 

118. 
Shall  the  professor  be  in  practice?  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1912,  xi,  166. 
Busey,  Samuel  Clagett,  1828-1901.     In:  Cyclopedia  of  American  Medical  Biography 

.  .  .  from  1610-1910,  ed.  by  Howard  A.  KeUy,  Philadelphia,  1912,  i,  140-143. 
EUot,  Johnson,  1815-1888.     In:    Cyclopedia  of  American  Medical  Biography  .  .  . 

from  1610-1910,  ed.  by  Howard  A.  KeUy,  PhUadelphia,  1912,  i,  279-280. 

1913 

The  progress  of  public  health  and  the  need  of  increased  federal  health  activities  in 
the  United  States.     9  p.  8°.     Repr.  from:    Case  and  Comment,  August,  1913. 

Occupational  diseases,  with  special  reference  to  the  stone  cutting  industry  in  Ver- 
mont. Lecture  before  the  fifteenth  annual  school  of  instruction  for  health 
officers.     Bull.  Vermont  State  Board  of  Health,  xiii,  No.  3. 

A  condensed  history  of  the  hospitals  and  medical  charities  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Repr.  from:  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Charities,  Washington,  1913. 

The  sense  of  hearing  from  a  hygienic  standpoint  (Discussion).  Wash.  Med.  Ann., 
1913,  XII,  48. 

Anti-typhoid  vaccination  in  the  army  (Discussion).  Tr.  Ass.  Am.  Physicians, 
Philadelphia,  1913,  xxviii,  466. 

Syphilis  among  school  children  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1913,  xii,  228-229. 

Hospital  milk  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1913,  xii,  240-241. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY,    GEORGE   M.    KOBER  209 

1914 

Sanitation  in  ancient  civilizations  (Discussion).  Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1914,  xiii,  349- 
351. 

Streptococcus  sore  throat  (Discussion).  Tr.  Ass.  Am.  Physicians,  Philadelphia, 
1914,  xxrs,  292. 

1915 

Tuberculosis  with  special  reference  to  its  prevention.  Address  of  the  President  at 
the  Annual  ^Meeting  of  the  National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Prevention 
of  Tuberculosis,  Seattle,  Washington.  Repr.  from:  Tr.  Nat.  Ass.  for  Study 
and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  1915. 

The  child  and  the  home.     Tr.  Nat.  Ass.  for  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  1915. 

Tuberculosis  wath  special  reference  to  its  epidemiologj',  transmissability  and  preven- 
tion.    Repr.  from:  Public  Health  Re-ports,  Oct.  29,  1915,  No.  339. 

Chapter  "Avoid  house  dust"  in  Washington  Health  Rules,  a  collection  of  chapters 
dealing  with  the  essentials  of  hygiene  published  by  the  Association  for  the 
Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  1915. 

A  plea  for  a  cancer  clinic  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1915,  xiv,  77. 

1916 
Address  at  a  memorial  meeting  in  honor  of  George  Miller  Sternberg.     Repr.  from: 

Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1916,  xv,  81-91. 
Diseases  of  occupation  and  vocational  hygiene,  (edited  by  Kober  and  Hanson). 

918  p.  8°.     Philadelphia,  Blakiston  Sons  &  Co.,  1916. 

Dr.  Kober  WTote  the  chapter  on  the  effects  of  diminished  atmosphere,  with 

special  reference  to  aviators  (p.  211-217),  and  also  the  chapters  on  the  etiology 

and  prophylaxis  of  occupational  diseases  (p.  417-761). 
The  Army  Medical  Museum;  a  history  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1916,  xv, 

33-34. 
Ernest  Pendleton  Magruder;    an  appreciation   (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann., 

1916,  XV,  57. 
Actinomycosis  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1916,  xv,  61. 
Responsibility  of  the  physician  with  respect  to  the  insane  patient  (Discussion). 

Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1916,  xv,  117. 
Infant  welfare  and  infant  mortahty  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1916,  xv,  273. 
Psychoanalysis  in  its  relation  to  psychiatry  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1916, 

XV,  342. 
Dr.  Agramonte's  resolution  of  condolence  on  the  death  of  General  George  M.  Stern, 

berg    (Remarks).    Proc.   Second  Pan-American   Scientific   Congress,   Wash., 

Dec.  27,  1915- January  8,  1916,  ix,  314. 
Housing  of  wage  earners,  by  Dr.  Lawrence  Veiller  (Discussion).     Pmc.  Second  Pan- 

Anurican  Scientific  Congress,  Wash.,  Dec.  27,  1915- January  8, 1916,  ix,  310-320. 
International  agreements  in  relation  to  the  suppression  of  vice,  by  James  B.  Reynolds 

(Discussion).     Pmc.  Second  Pan-American  Scictdiftc  Congress,  Wash.,  Dec.  27, 

1915-January  8,  1916,  ix,  504. 
Discussion  of  papers  relating  to  soi  ial  medicine.     Proc.  Second  Pan-American  Scien- 
tific Congnsx,  Wash.,  Dec.  27,  1915-January  8,  1916,  ix,  584. 
The  significance  of  chemistry  in  water  purification,  by  E.  Bartow   (Discussion). 

Proc.  Second  Pan-American  Scientific  Congress,  Wash.,  Dec.  27,  1915-January 

8,  1916,  X,  226-227. 


210  BIBLIOGRAPHY,   GEORGE    M.    KOBER 

Fresh  air  and  ventilation  in  the  hght  of  modern  research,  by  C.-E.  A.  Winslow 
(Discussion).  Proc.  Second  Pan-American  Scientific  Congress,  Wash.,  Dec.  27, 
1915- January  8,  1916,  x,  243-244. 

George  M.  Sternberg:  Historical  resume  of  investigations  of  yellow  fever  leading  up 
to  the  findings  of  the  Reed  board  (Discussion).  Proc.  Second  Pan-American 
Scientific  Congress,  Wash.,  Dec.  27,  1915-January  8,  1916,  x,  650. 

1917 

Artificial  pneimiothorax  in  the  treatment  of  tuberculosis  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med. 

Ann.,  1917,  xvi,  78. 
American  achievements  in  medicine  (Discussion).     Wash.  Med.  Ann.,  1917,  xvi,  160. 
Cirrhosis  of  the  hver  (Discussion).     Tr.  Ass.  Am.  Physicians,  Philadelphia,  1917, 

XXXII,  478. 
Effects  of  dust  inhalation  upon  the  lungs.     Tr.  Ass.  Am.  Physicians,  Philadelphia, 

1917,  xxxii,  106-107. 

1918 

Sanitation  of  rural  workmen's  areas  with  special  reference  to  housing.     Committee 

on  labor.  Council  of  National  Defence.     Repr.  from:    Public  Health  Reports, 

September  6,  1918,  no.  487. 
Recent  developments  in  infant  feeding.     Discussion  of  Mr.  Emile  BerUner's  address 

read  before  the  Association  for  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  Wasliington, 

D.  C,  November  25,  1918. 

1919 

The  venereal  problem  in  civil  life.  Address  delivered  at  the  first  of  a  series  of 
educational  lectures  and  film  exhibitions  before  medical  schools.  Bull.  U.  S. 
Public  Health  Service,  Feb.  1,  1919. 

Osier's  influence  on  American  medicine  (Osier's  anniversary  volume,  1919).     In  press. 

Protest  by  Dr.  Kober,  dean  of  the  Medical  School,  Georgetown  University,  against 
the  passage  of  Senate  Bill  No.  1258:  Providing  for  the  prevention  of  experi- 
ments on  the  dog.  Vivisection  hearing  before  the  U.  S.  Senate  Judiciary 
Committee,  November  1-4,  1919,  101-108.  Washington,  D.  C,  Govt.  Print. 
Office,  1919. 

Occupations  in  relation  to  tuberculosis.  Address  delivered  before  the  College  of 
Physicians,  Pliiladelphia,  December  17,  1919.     In  press. 

Chapters  on  hygiene  for  elders.  In:  Illustrated  Health  Rhymes  for  Children, 
Washington,  1919. 

Miscellaneous. 

Description  of  Frankford  Arsenal.     Army  and  Navy  Journal,  N.  Y.,  August  12,  1871. 
Auch  eine  Ansicht  i'lber  deutsche  Schulen.     Washington  Journal,  September,  1873. 
Amerikanisch-deutsche  Klinik.     Washington  Journal,  April,  1874. 
Das  Central-Dispensarium  in  Washington;   eine  arztliche  Anstalt  ftir  unbemittelte 
,     Kjanke;     das   deutsche   Element    zahlrcich   vertreten.     Washington  Journal, 

June  29,  1874. 
Aus  dem  fernen  Westen.     Washington  Journal,  June  26,  1877. 
Rifle  practice  for  the  army  and  navy.     Army  and  Navy  Journal,  N.  Y.  August  10, 

1878. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY,    GEORGE   M.    KOBER  211 

The  Army  Mutual  Aid  Society.     Army  and  Navy  Journal,  N.  Y.,  October,  1878. 
"St.  John's  Day."     Original  poem  deUvered  at  Masonic  celebration  at  Fort  Bidwell, 

California,  Jime  22,  1883.     Lake  County  Examiner,  Oregon,  June  30,  1883. 
"Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  Uberty."     Fourth  of  July  oration  delivered  in 

Cedarville,  Cahfornia,  July,  1885. 
Columbian  oration  dehvered  at  Fort  Bidwell,  Cahfornia,  October  21,  1892.     Alturas 

Plain  Dealer,  October  23,  1892. 
Comphmentary  dinner  to  Dr.  Joseph  J.  Ivinyoun,  Washington,   May  20,    1899. 

Address.     Repr.  from:  Georgetown  College  Journal,  June,  1899. 


AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHYSICAL 
ANTHROPOLOGY 


Rules  Concerning  Communications 


1.  Recognizing  the  universal  character  and  essential  unity  of  anthropological  laws  and 
problems,  the  Journal  lays  no  geographical  restrictions  on  its  activities,  and  wiU  freely 
receive  high-class  communications  from  foreign  contributors. 

2.  At  the  outset,  communications  must  be  restricted  to  those  in  the  English  language; 
but  as  soon  as  pecuniary  conditions  permit,  the  Journax.  will  also  be  available  for  articles 
in  Spanish,  as  the  next  most  important  language  on  the  American  continent. 

3.  Articles  of  merit  will  not  be  hmited  in  length. 

4.  AU  papers  submitted  for  pubhcation  will  be  subjected  to  careful  editorial  scrutiny,  only 
those  being  accepted  whicli  present  contributions  of  real  value  to  Physical  Anthropologj^  and 
which  are  in  correct  form. 

5.  Until  the  Journal  is  on  a  sound  financial  basis,  illustrations,  detailed  tabular  matter, 
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tion. To  avoid  undue  delay,  but  one  proof  vdU  be  submitted  to  author  for  correction  of  typo- 
graphical errors,  except  in  special  cases.  Changes  in  the  text  or  additions  can  not  be  considered 
unless  the  author  bears  the  cost  of  resetting. 

7.  All  tables,  plates,  and  figures  must  be  provided  with  full  legends  and  presented  in  finished 
form. 

8.  Reprints  will  be  furnished  at  cost. 

9.  While  due  care  will  be  exercised  in  accepting  articles,  discussions  and  reviews  for  pubhcation, 
the  responsibility  for  these  must  rest  wholly  with  the  authors. 


AMERICAN   JOURNAL   OF   PHYSICAL  ANTHROPOLOGY 


Vol.  ni— No.  1 


JANUARY-MARCH,   1920 


CONTENTS 


KoBER,  De.  Geokgk  M.  ;   Biography iii 

Neavton,  Philip:    Observations  on  the  Negritos  of  the  Philippine  Islands .        1 

Keegan,  J.  J.:    The  Indian  Brain 25 

Cameeon,  John  :  A  New  Craniometric  Method,  Including  a  Description  of  a  Specially 
Designed  Indexometer  for  Estimating  it •    •    •      63 

Maccuedy,  George  Geant  :    Aspects  of  the  Skull:  How  shall  They  be  Represented?  .    .  77 

Laufee,  Berthold  :   Multiple  Births  among  the  Chinese 83 

Thompson,  Warren  S.  :  Race  Suicide  in  the  United  States , 97 

Hedlicka,  Ales:   Anthropometry— E.     Osteometry 147 

Special  Communications:  The  Morbidity  Statistics  of  Insured  Wage-Earners  and  their 
Families,  Louis  I.  Dublin,  Edwin  W.  Kopf  and  George  H.  Van  Buren,  175  ;  The  Newest 
Discovery  of  "Ancient"  Man  in  the  United  States,  Ales  Hrdlicka,  187. 

Notes:  Anthropological  Society  of  St.  Louis,  197  ;  Physical  Anthropology  at  the  Museum  of 
the  American  Indian,  197;  Studies  in  the  Far  East,  197;  Twentieth  International  Congress 
of  Americanists,  197  ;  Dr.  A.  A.  Meodes  Correaaud  the  University  of  Oporto,  197  ;  Swedish 
Investigations  in  South  America,  197  ;  Resignation  of  Dr.  Franz  Boas,  198  ;  LudwigStieda, 
198  ;  Richard  L.  Garner,  198  ;  Horatio  C.  Wood,  198  ;  Chihli  collections  at  Peking  Union 
Medical  College,  198;  Investigations  near  Chin-Chow,  198;  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History  Collections  from  Mongolia,  198. 

BiBLIOGEAPHY   OF   DE.   GEOEGE  M.    KoBEE 199 


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GEORGII  .  MARTINI  .  KOBER 

ALMAE .  MATRIS .  GEORGIOPOLITANAE .  DECORIS 

DICTA  .  SCRIPTA  .  FACTA 

QVA  .  IPSIVS 

LVCE  .  NATIVITATIS  .  SEPTVAGESIMA 

ADMIRAMINI  .  IMITAMINI 


Scripsit  Tondorf. 


Born,  March  28,  1850 
LL.D.,   June    14.    1906,    Georgetown    University 
Al.D.,  March  7,  1873.  Ceorficliwn   I'nivcrsity 


Francis  A.  Tondorf,  S.J., 
Head  of  the  Department  of  Physiology,  Georgetown  Medical  School. 

S  2vlUCH  knowledge  cU>es  not  constitute  wisdom  nor  a  facile 
memory  a  philosopher,  so  mastery  of  the  medical  science 
does  not  of  itself  make  a  great  physician.  If  he  be  without 
a  heart,  the  sufferings  and  countless  ills  that  human  flesh  is 
heir  to  become,  to  the  practitioner  so  many  modes  or  acci- 
dents of  being,  clinical  phenomena,  to  be  tabulated,  observed, 
treated  and  cured,  it  may  be,  but  there  his  philosophy  of  utility  exhausts 
itself. 

When,  on  the  other  hand,  to  skill  and  learning  is  joined  the  sweet  and 
generous  temper  of  the  friend  and  comforter  who  knf)ws  the  precious  art  of 
[>enetrating  beneath  the  sore  to  the  seared  soul,  then  has  medicine  achieved 
the  pattern  set  by  the  lirst  Great  Physician  of  Humanity. 

It  WMs  not  by  chance  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  called  the  Saviour  of  the  world 
"Haelend."  the  healer.  The  true  dignity  of  knowledge  lies  in  its  dedica- 
tion to  the  common  good.  To  indicate  that  the  seventy  years  of  the  life 
of  Dean  Kober  measure  up  faithfully  to  this  standard  has  made  the  task  of 
itemizing  the  following  facts  (jue  of  sincerest  love. 

Dr.  (ieorge  Martin  Kober  was  Ix^rn  to  Jacob  and  Dorothea  (Behr) 
Kober  at  Alsfeld,  Iles.sen-Darmstadt.  CJcrmany,  on  March  2(S.  1850.  He 
received  his  earlier  education  at  the  public  and  grand-ducal  "kealschule" 
of  his  native  town.  His  father,  a  revolutionist,  had  vowed  that  none  of  his 
sons  should  serve  under  a  German  king,  prince,  or  potentate.  Accordingly 
he  early  prevjiiled  upon  George  to  emigrate  to  the  United  States,  which  he 
did  in  April,  1867.  Upon  his  arrival,  he  found  that  his  brother  Charles, 
who  had  preceded  him  to  the  States,  had  secured  for  him  an  assignment 
to  the  hospital  corps  at  the  Carlisle  Barracks,  Pennsylvaiu'a.  Under  the 
tutelage  <if  Surgeon  Joseph  J.  1>.  Wright,  U.  S.  A.,  Kober  began  here  what 
might  be  fittingly  styled  his  pre-medical  course.  His  application  in  January. 
1870,   for  an  appointment  as  hospital  steward  was  acted   favorably  on  and 


217 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

accordingly  we  find  him  reporting  for  duty  on  January  lo,  at  the  Frankford 
Arsenal,   near    Philadelphia.     Here   he   read   medicine   privately    under   Dr. 
Robert  Bruce  Burns,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.     Ordered 
to  Washington,  to  the  office  of  the  Surgeon-General,  in  September,  1871,  he 
found  it  possible  to  formally  enter  upon  his  medical  studies  in  the  Medical 
School  of  Georgetown  University.     With  the  schedule  calling  for  no  exer- 
cises before  5  P.  M.,  Kober  was  able  to  attend  all  the  classes  and,  not  satis- 
fied with   this,  he  tutored  privately  under  Drs.  Johnson   Eliot   and  Robert 
Reyburn.     After  two  winter  and  summer  courses  he  was  graduated  in  March, 
1873.     The  following  winter  he  figured  as  the  first  graduate  of  a  post-grad- 
uate course,   inaugurated   by  Drs.   Thompson,   Busey,   Ashford,   and  others, 
at  the   Columbia  Hospital,   Washington,   D.   C.     During  the  period  of  his 
medical   studies,  Kober  considered  himself   fortunate  in  being  assigned  the 
duty  of   indexing  all    the  official    communications   on   file    in   the    Surgeon- 
General's  office  from   181 2  to  the  date  of  his  departure  m  1874.     In  these 
dusty   records   he   found   many   items   of   extreme    scientific,    historical,   and 
epidemiological  interest :  so  the  reports  of  Surgeon  William  Beaumont,  sta- 
tioned at  Fort  Mackinac,  Michigan,  on  his  "Observations  and  Experiments 
in  1825  in  the  case  of  Alexis  St.  Martin,''  who  had  been  treated  for  a  gun- 
shot wound  of  the  abdomen  resulting  in  a  gastric  fistula :.  so  too  the  report 
of  a  perforating  gun-shot  wound  of  the  chest  with  recovery  in  the  case  of 
Gen.   James   Shields,   of   Mexican   War   fame.     Of  equal   interest   weie  the 
reports  on  yellow  fever  during  the  Seminole  Indian  and  Mexican  Wars,  as 
also  subsequent  reports  on  yellow  fever  and  cholera  up  to  the  year   1874. 
Kober  learned  here  to  respect  the  old  Army  doctors,  for  when  referring  to 
ihem  afterwards,  in  his  lectures,  he  ever  insisted  that  "they  knew  how  to 
use  the  English  language  better  than  men  of  modern  times."     Whilst  engaged 
in  this  indexing,  Kober  had  gained  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  Surgeon- 
(jeneral    Barnes   and   Assistant   Surgeon-General    Crane,   of   Drs.   Joseph   J. 
Woodward  and  George  A.  Otis,  editors  of  the  Medical  and  Surgical  History 
of  the  Civil  War,  and  Dr.  John   S.   Billings,  in  charge  of  the  library,  and 
who,  with  the  assistance  of  but  one  hospital  steward,  was  layiifg  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Index  Catalogue.      Billings  found  Kober  of  service  in  supplying 
correct  titles  for  the  articles  published'  in  the  German  medical  periodicals. 
His  fellow  clerks  fittingly  christened  him  "Index"  because  of  his  unselfish 
devotion  to  this  trying  work,  and  lest  the  harvester.  Time,  should  rob  him 
of  this  new  birth-right,  his  close  friend,  George  Dowe,  on  the  occasion  of 
Kober's  twenty-fourth  birthf'ay,  did  this  title  into  the  following  verse: 

218 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

Index  you  are  rightly  named, 

Let  thy  future  name  be  famed. 

I  do  not  come  in  grim  scholastic  mood 

To  fuhiiiuatc  some  dreary  platitude. 

But  only  wish,  my  loved  and  honored  friend, 

That  hope  and  peace  he  yours  till  life  shall  end. 

Hope,  the  sheet  anchor  of  the  youthful  soul, 

And  peace  zchen  angry  woz'es  of  trouble  roll. 

And,  while  you  practice  well  the  healing  art. 

Let  strength  be  giz'cn  to  act  the  manly  part; 

Good  common  sense  to  know  the  good  from  ill. 

And  test  the  powers  of  plasters,  draught  or  pill. 

And  if,  upon  some  distant  honored  day. 

The  men  and  women  you  have  cured  for  pay 

Shall  add  their  record  to  your  fair  renown. 

By  ivriting  some  good  testimonial  down, 

Be  this  the  message  one  and  all  shall  send: 

That  ezrry  patient  was  your   fervent   friend. 

Search  carefully  true  zcisdom's  bounteous  stores, 

That  all  her  waiting  treasure  may  be  yours. 

May  she  attend,  zvhen  years  run  trembling  dozi.m. 

With  honors  zvreath  your  zvhitening  hairs  to  crozvn. 

Appointed  acting  assistant  surgeon.  U.  S.  A.,  he  became  post  surgeon  in 
July,  i<S74.  at  Alcatraz  Island.  California,  which  position  he  filled  till  Xovem- 
ber  of  the  same  year,  at  which  time  he  was  ordered  to  Fort  McDermit. 
Nevada,  in  the  same  capacity.  In  the  fall  of  1875  ^^^  served  with  the  h'irst 
U.  S.  Cavalry  in  the  southeastern  Xevada  exi>edition  against  hostile  Indians 
nnd  in  1877  took  active  part  in  the  Nez-Perces  war.  From  July  to  October 
of  this  year  the  field  hospital  at  Kamiah,  on  the  Clearwater.  Idalio.  was  under 
his  charge. 

In  November,  1877.  he  met  for  the  first  time  Dr.  Gec^-ge  M.  Sternberg, 
then  post  surgeon  at  Walla  Walla,  and  this  acquaintance  ripened  into  a 
life-long  friendship.  Dr.  Kober  never  tired  of  acknowledging  his  indebted- 
ness to  the  General  for  the  many  inspirations  he  had  received  from  him. 
Having  .served  as  post  surgeon  successively  at  a  camp  near  Spokane,  W.  T. ; 
at  Fort  Coeur  d'Alene,  Idaho;  Fort  Klamath,  Oregon:  an*^  Fort  Pidwell,  Cal- 
ifornia, he  was  relieved  from  this  service  on  the  reception  of  the  following 
orders,  highly  commendatory  of  his  efficiency : 

219 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

Post  Orders)  Fort   Bidwell,   California. 

No.  104     )  Nov.  11th,  1886. 

*  *  *  In  recognition  of  the  long  and  faithful  professional  services  rendered  to 
the  government  during  the  past  twelve  years  in  the  field,  in  pursuit  of  hostile  Indians, 
and  at  various  posts,  the  commanding  officer  cannot  part  with  him  without  some 
expression  of  his  feelings  of  regret,  as  part  of  this  service  was  rendered  under  his 
immediate  command. 

His  devotion  to  his  professional  duties  has  been  warmly'  recognized  not  only  by  his 
commanding  officer,  but  by  others,  and  has  stamped  him  as  one  of  the  most  skilful 
surgeons  in  the  U.  S.  Army. 

A  steadfast  friend,  a  faithful  officer,  with  the  many  acts  of  kindness  to  all,  pro- 
fessional and  otherwise,  he  has  endeared  himself  not  only  to  the  officers  and  enlisted 
men  of  the  garrison,  but  to  the  community  at  large,  which  he  has  helped  to  build  up. 
*     *     *     He  carries  with  him  our  best  wishes  for  his  future  welfare  and  happiness. 

By  order  of  Major  Gordon. 

(Signed).     L.  M.  Brett,  2nd  Lieut,  2nd  Cavalry. 
Post  Adjutant. 

After  severing  his  connections  with  the  army,  Kober  remained  at  this  sta- 
tion caring  for  his  many  civih'an  patients  until  June,  1887,  at  which  time  he 
traveled  extensively  in  America  and  Europe.  He  returned  to  Fort  Bidwell 
the  following  year.  In  the  fall  of  1889,  we  find  him  in  Washington  devoting 
his  time  to  college,  hospital,  and  literary  work.  Besides  acting  as  professor 
of  Hygiene  and  .State  Medicine  in  the  Georgetown  Medical  School,  he  assisted 
his  friend  and  former  classmate,  Dr.  Carrol  E.  Morgan,  in  his  specialties,  dis- 
eases of  the  throat,  chest,  etc.  In  the  winter  of  1889-90,  he  directed  the 
attention  of  the  District  authorities  to  the  sewage  pollution  of  the  Potomac 
water,  indicating  this  as  an  important  factor  in  the  alarming  prevalence  of 
lyphoid  fever  in  Washington.  In  August,  1890,  he  went  to  Berlin  as  a 
member  of  the  Tenth  International  Medical  Congress  and  there  read  a  paper 
entitled:  "Etiology  of  typlioid  fever  with  special  reference  to  water-borne 
epidemics."  His  California  investments  necessitated  his  return  to  Fort  Bid- 
well  in  December,  1890.  He  resumed  his  medical  practice  there  and  for  a 
year  or  more  was  again  attending  surgeon  of  the  post. 

His  alma  mater  welcomed  him  back  to  the  lecture  room  in  the  fall  of  1893. 
{-"rom  this  date  on,  lieakli  prol)lems  of  the  District,  its  social  and  industrial 
betterment  were  his  one  concern.  At  the  request  of  the  Health  Officer,  in 
[895,  he  investigated  the  possible  causes  of  typhoid  fever  in  the  city  and  in 
his  report  suggested  the  agency  of  flies  as  a  transmitter  of  the  disease.  His 
pul:)lic  addresses  on  various  occasions  and  researches  into  the  relative  merits 
of  the  various  processes  of  water  filtration,  very  materially  influenced  Con- 
gress towards  appropriating  the  necessary  funds  for  the  installation  of  the 

220 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

model  filtration  plant  at  Brookland,  District  of  Columbia.  During  the  years 
[895-96,  Kober  was  a  volunteer  worker  in  the  Hygienic  Laboratory  of  the 
Public  Health  Service  of  the  United  States.  As  a  member  of  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  Associated  Charities  the  housing  problem  for  the  least 
resourceful  people  in  the  national  capital  appealed  to  him  with  special  emphasis 
and  accordingly  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  principal  promoters  of  the 
Washington  Sanitary  Housing  Company,  organized  in  1897  and  1904. 
Through  these  agencies  sanitary  houses,  at  reasonable  rentals,  have  been 
provided  for  over  eight  hundred  wage-earners  and  their  dependents.  The 
success  of  this  earlier  enterprise  has  lent  encouragement  to  a  system  on  a 
wider  basis  not  only  in  the  national  capital  but  other  larger  cities  of  the 
States  and  merited  for  Kober  a  gold  medal  of  award  at  the  Paris  International 
Exposition  of  1900.  Acting  as  secretary  of  two  housing  companies  from  the 
day  of  their  organization  until  November,  19 15,  upon  the  death  of  General 
George  M.  Sternberg,  he  succeeded  to  the  office  of  president.  In  1897,  he 
was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Association  of  Military  Surgeons 
of  the  United  States,  undoubtedly  in  recognition  of  his  services  as  civilian 
physician  in  the  United  States  Army  as  likewise  because  of  his  able  com- 
munication "The  Place  of  Military  Medicine  and  vSurgery  in  the  Medical 
College  Curriculum."  When  reviewed  in  the  light  of  the  recent  World  War 
this  paper  and  a  kindred  one  entitled:  "Higher  Medical  Education  and  a 
Plea  for  Better  Training  of  the  Volunteer  Medical  Officer,"  published  in 
[898,  have  special  significance.  As  a  medical  educator,  Dr.  Kober  strenu- 
ously espoused  every  method  of  scientific  research.  Thoroughly  convinced 
tiiat  animal  exi>erimentation  must  yield  most  marvelous  results,  we  find  him. 
as  chairman  oi  the  Committee  of  Public  Health  of  the  Civic  Center  on  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1900,  filing  a  most  vigorous  protest  against  the  enactment  of  Sen- 
cile  I'ill.  No.  34,  whose  purport  was  to  restrict  the  use  of  animals  for  experi- 
mental purposes  in  mechcine.  The  brief  he  submitted  on  this  occasion 
t:mbo(lies  facts  and  arguments  which  convinced  even  the  sponsor  of  the  bill, 
Senator  J.  H.  Gallinger,  that  the  propo.sed  legislation  was  superfluous.  It 
may  be  pertinent  to  mention  here  that  Kober  very  effectually  recalled  this  inci- 
dent before  the  Judiciary  Comnn'ttec  Hearing  in  November,  1919,  when  a 
similar  bill  by  the  anli-vivisectionists  was  under  discussion.  In  1901.  Kober 
was  selected  to  deliver  before  the  American  Medical  Association,  at  St. 
Paul.  Minnesota,  the  "Oration  on  State  Medicine."  His  theme  was:  "The 
Progress  and  Tendency  of  Hygiene  and  Sanitary  Science  in  the  Nineteenth 
Century."     This  same  year  he  was  invested  as  dean  of  the  medical  scliool  of 

221 


ANNIVERS.VRY     TRIBUTE. 

his  altiui  mater.  Plis  plans  for  a  curricnlnni  calculated  to  insure  for  medical 
aspirants  a  more  complete  and  harmonious  education  was  set  forth  in  his 
"Plea  for  a  Standard  Medical  Curriculum,"  read  before  the  Association  of 
American  Medical  Colleges,  in  1904.  At  this  meeting  he  was  appointed 
chairman  of  a  "Committee  on  National  Uniformity  of  Curriculum."  The 
report  submitted  by  the  committee  was  approved  and  it  is  a  pleasing  reflec- 
tion to  recall  that  Dr.  William  J.  Means,  in  his  presidential  address,  March 
J,  1919,  referred  to  it  in  most  appreciative  terms.  June  14,  1906,  Kober 
was  the  recipient  of  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Law  from  his  alma 
mater.     The  citation  follows : 

"It  is  fitting  that  universities  should  show  their  appreciation  of  their  sons 
who  have  done  distinguished  service  in  the  cause  of  science  and  humanity. 
There  are  none  more  worthy  than  they  who  lessen  human  misery  and  by 
their  genius  and  devotion  ward  off  disease  and  suffering  amongst  men. 
They  are  the  true  philanthropists,  inspired  with  genuine  unselfish  love  for 
their  fellows.  Such  is  the  man  whom  this  university  gladly  and  gratefully 
honors  today;  a  man  who  besides  his  duties  to  the  public,  acknowledged  and 
rewarded  already  by  distant  nations,  has  labored  in  season  and  out  of  season 
for  the  welfare  of  the  medical  school  of  this  university  and  of  each  individual 
student  until  his  work  has  been  recognized  by  the  official  medical  body  of  the 
United  States  in  electing  him  President  of  the  Association  of  American 
Schools  of  Medicine,  and  in  its  public  declaration  that  the  course  of  study 
introduced  by  him  into  Georgetown  Medical  School  should  be  the  standard 
of  all  medical  schools." 

President  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  1906.  designated  Kober  as  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Charities  and  in  May  of  the  following  year  as  a  member  of 
the  President  Homes  Commission.  As  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Social 
Betterment  he  drew  up  monographs  on  "Industrial  Hygiene"  and  "Social 
Betterment,"  which  were  published  as  Senate  document  No.  644  in  1908.  At 
the  meeting  of  the  first  Conference  on  the  Conservation  of  National  Resources, 
which  convened  at  the  White  House  May  13,  1908,  on  invitation  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  he  addressed  that  body  on  "The  Conservation  of 
Life  and  Health  by  Improved  Water  Supply."  Dr.  Kober  has  been  a  member 
of  the  National  Tuberculosis  Association  since  its  organization  in  1905.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  local  Society  for  the  Study  and  Preventi'Mi  of  Tuber- 
culosis. His  plans  were  adopted  in  the  construction  of  the  Tuberculosis 
Hospital  in  Wa.shington,  formally  opened  to  patients  June  28,  1908.  and 
were  awarded  a  medal  at  the  exposition  connected  with  the  International  Con- 

222 


1866 


1873 


1881 


1895 


1904 


1916 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

gress  on  Tuberculosis  held  in  Washington  in  the  fall  of  1908.  He  may  be 
very  fittingly  designated  a  pioneer  worker  in  the  crusade  against  tuberculosis, 
liaving  read  as  early  as  1889  a  paper  entitled:  "Etiology  and  Prevention  of 
Tuberculosis  in  the  Light  of  Alodern  Research,"  before  the  Medical  Society 
of  the  District  of  Columbia.  This  lecture  was  published  by  the  State  Board 
of  Health  of  California  as  a  special  pamphlet  in  1890  and  was  followed  by 
a  second  in  1893,  "A  Plea  for  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,"  which  had 
been  previously  read  before  the  State  Sanitary  Convention  of  California. 

Dr.  Kober  is  a  Fellow  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  of  the  Amer- 
ican Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  likewise  a  member  of  the 
Advisory  Council  of  that  same  body.  Member  of  the  Cosmos  Club.  Mem- 
ber of  the  Association  of  American  Physicians  (Secretary  from  1909  to 
1916,  at  which  time  he  retired  and  was  elected  honorary  member).  Member 
of  the  American  Public  Health  Association (  Vice-President,  1916).  Asso- 
ciation of  American  Medical  Colleges  (President  in  1906).  The  National 
Association  for  the  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis  (President  in 
T915).  National  Housing  Association.  Medical  and  Surgical  Society 
District  of  Columbia  (President  1889,  1917-19).  The  Medical  Association 
of  the  District  of  Columbia  (President  1898).  Medical  Society  District  of 
Columbia  (President  1903).  The  Washington  Anthropological  Society 
(President  1907,  1918-1919).  The  Social  Hygiene  Society  of  the  District 
of  Columbia  (President  19 18- 19 19).  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Lec- 
tures, Sixth  International  Congress  on  Tuberculosis,  Washington,  D.  C,  Sep- 
tember 28th  to  October  5th,  1908.  Honorary  Member  of  the  Medical  and 
Surgical  Society  of  Washington,  D.  C,  1910.  President  of  Section  IV, 
Industrial  and  Occupational  Hygiene  of  the  15th  International  Congress  on 
Hygiene  and  Demography  in  Washington,  September  23-28,  1912.  Chair- 
man of  Sub-Section  C,  Sociological  Medicine  of  the  Pan-American  Scientific 
Congress,  held  in  Washington,  D.  C,  December  27,  191 5  to  January  8,  1916. 
Member  of  the  Washington  Academy  of  Sciences  (Vice-President  1919-1920.) 

In  191 2,  Dr.  Kober  was  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  American  Medi- 
cal Association,  Chairman  of  a  Committee  on  Red  Cross  Medical  Work. 
This  Committee  was  created  so  as  to  provide  a  body  of  representative 
physicians  of  approved  qualification  to  direct  or  participate  in  medical  work, 
carried  on  by  the  Red  Cross  in  different  localities  in  times  of  war  or  emer- 
gencies and  to  advise  with  representatives  of  that  society  in  handling  medical 
and  sanitary  problems  incident  to  such  an  occurrence.  The  Committee  up  to 
May,  1916.  organized  committees  in  588  county  medical  societies  located  in 

223 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

47  states.  During  the  recent  world  war  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  "Conservation  and  Welfare  of  Workers"  and  chairman  of  the  Committee 
of  Rural  Workmen's  x\reas  with  Special  Reference  to  Housing;  Member  of 
the  Council  of  Defense,  District  of  Columbia;  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  housing. 

Dr.  Kober  is  the  author  of  no  monographs,  chapters  in  text  books,  journal 
articles  and  reviews  on  medical,  surgical,  sanitary  and  sociological  subjects, 
and  over  120  published  discussions.  His  first  medical  essay  was  on  "Infantile 
Paralysis"  published  in  the  Pacific  Medical  Journal  in  November,  1874,  in 
which  he  presented  all  the  available  evidence  that  the  disease  was  due  to  some 
organic  lesion  of  the  medulla  spinalis.  In  the  same  year  he  published  his 
Urinology  and  its  practical  application.  In  1875,  he  published  notes  in  the 
American  Weekly,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  241-243,  on  chronic  dysentery  treated  with 
injections  of  a  solution  of  chlorate  of  potash,  and  adenitis  (tubercular) 
treated  with  injections  of  carbolic  acid  and  glycerine.  In  October,  1876,  he 
reported  in  the  American  Journal  Medical  Sciences,  a  case  of  gun-shot  wound 
of  the  knee  joint,  in  which  he  used  probably  for  the  first  time  an  injection  of 
tincture  of  iodine  and  carbolic  acid.  Dr.  Edmond  Souchon,  of  New  Orleans, 
in  his  monograph  on  "Original  Contributions  of  America  to  Medical 
Sciences"  credits  Dr.  Kober  as  having  been  the  first  to  publish  notes  on  the 
three  subjects  referred  to.  He  also  credits  him  with  having  been  the  first  to 
point  out  that  insects,  especially  flies  are  doubtless  frequently  the  cause  of 
spreading  typhoid  fever.  Dr.  Kober's  tabulation  of  330  milk-borne  epidemics 
and  his  monograph  on  "Milk  in  Relation  to  Public  Health"  and  his  first  book 
on  "Industrial  Hygiene,"  published  as  Senate  documents,  and  his  chapter 
dealing  with  the  effects  of  diminished  atmosphere  upon  the  health  of  aviators 
published  in  1916,  are  regarded  as  pioneer  contributions  to  American  medi- 
cal literature. 

Such  is  the  story  of  a  lifetime  of  sound  scholarship  and  scientific  achieve- 
ments which  have  made  him  an  ornament  to  the  medical  profession  and  a 
consolation  to  his  alma  mater.  No  form  of  human  misery  has  been  so  low 
as  not  to  be  the  object  of  his  solicitude,  no  need  of  the  University  has  been 
so  insignificant  as  not  to  command  complete  response.  He  has  done  good 
in  the  open,  he  has  done  good  by  stealth,  but,  withal,  as  one  devoid  of  the 
spoiling  taint  of  vanity  or  self-seeking.  Of  a  personal  integrity  unimpeached 
and  unimpeachable,  of  unswerving  fidelity  in  adherence  to  higli  ideals  of 
medical  education,  his  is  the  singular  privilege  to  note  his  name  chiseled  high 
on  the  pillar  of  the  temple  of  fame. 

224 


^^^e^r^r^^^-^      yj^a-^^-^^^ 


Hum   Mdiili  .'S.    /.S'.-io. 
Pciiii  Ccoriictown  I'liivrrsity  Mrdiftil  School  June.  luoi. 


A  N  N  I  V  E  R  S  A  R  Y     T  R  I  P.  IJ  T  E  . 

Wilfred  AI.  Barton.   M.D.,  "92. 
Professor  of  Therapeutics,  GeorgctoK'u  Medical  School. 

June  13th,  1901,  was  an  important  day  in  the  history  of  the  Georgetown 
Medical  School  for  on  that  date  George  Martin  Kober  was  elected  Dean. 
Nearly  twenty  years  have  since  elapsed  and  preparations  are  complete  for  a 
great  testimonial  in  honor  of  his  70th  birthday  and  of  the  high  esteem  in 
which  he  is  nniversally  held. 

The  election  of  Dr.  Kober  to  the  Deanship  was  made  at  a  regular  meeting 
of  the  Medical  Faculty  on  motion  of  Prof.  S.  S.  Adams;  and  Prof.  Joseph 
Tabor  Johnson,  Vice-President,  was  requested  to  cast  the  unanimous  ballot 
of  the  faculty  for  him  as  Dean.  Dr.  Kober  is  the  seventh  Dean  which  our 
seventy  year  old  medical  school  has  had.  His  predecessors  were  Howard, 
Eliot,  Reyburn,  Ashford,  Lovejoy  and  Magruder.  In  point  of  years  of 
service  only  one  has  equalled  him,  nariiely,  Eliot  who  served  continuously  in 
the  same  office  from  1856  to  1876.  At  the  time  of  Dr.  Kober's  election  as 
Dean  in  190 1.  Rev.  Father  John  D.  Whitney  was  Rector  of  the  University, 
soon  to  be  followed  by  Rev.  Father  Jerome  Dougherty.  These  two  distin- 
guished Jesuit  Fathers  have  intertwined  their  names  into  the  very  tapestry 
of  Georgetown  history  and  it  was  under  their  authority  that  Dr.  Kober  began 
!hat  work  for  the  Medical  School  which  has  moulded  its  form  and  nurtured 
its  development  and  progress  for  a  fifth  of  a  century. 

The  acclamation  of  his  colleagues  on  his  election  had  scarce  died  away 
(in  that  night  of  June  I3tli  when  Dr.  Kober  was  called  upon  to  present  his 
report  to  the  {''acuity  of  the  meeting  of  the  Association  of  American  Medical 
Colleges  which  he  had  attended  at  St.  Paul  on  the  3rd  of  June.  We  men- 
tion this  report  specifically  because  it  gives  a  key  to  the  character  and  an 
example  (;f  the  sturdy  service  of  the  man.  He  had  gone  to  the  meeting  at 
St.  Paul  as  a  delegate  from  Georgetown  Medical  School,  in  whose  faculty 
he  was  pnjfessor  of  hygiene.  It  was  his  duty  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the 
association,  to  listen  to  the  pa|)crs.  to  partake  in  the  discussions  and  to  report 
U)  his  colleagues  what  had  been  done  by  those  who  were  interested  in 
luedical  education.  This  he  did.  and  ou  that  night  after  his  election  he  gave 
a  succinct  but  cf)mprehensive  report  of  what  he  had  seen  and  heard  at  the 
meeting  in  St.  Paul,  lie  t^'M  tliein  that  tlie  tcndencv  of  medical  education 
seemed   t<>  be  along  the   lines  of  emphasi/ing  practical   rather   than    didactic 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

teaching  in  the  medical  schools.  Always  on  the  lookout  to  have  Georgetown 
in  the  advance  guard  of  progressive  schools  and  advocating  every  true  reform 
in  medical  teaching,  Dr.  Kober  urged  upon  his  colleagues  the  necessity  of 
striving  for  the  highest  ideals  to  be  maintained  by  the  medical  school.  On 
many  subsequent  occasions  Dr.  Kober  pleaded  for  his  high  ideals,  not  always 
without  opposition  from  those  of  a  conservative  group  who  believed  rather 
in  following  closely  than  in  leading.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  char- 
acteristic of  Dr.  Kober  to  stake  everything  on  the  altar  of  his  ideals  has 
been  a  chief  factor  in  enlarging  the  reputation  and  prestige  of  Georgetown 
Medical  among  the  elite  colleges  of  the  country.  Unendowed  and  conse- 
quently handicapped  for  funds  the  Medical  School  has  had  a  somewhat 
difficult  struggle,  and  a  man  of  less  grit  than  he  might  well  have  been 
excused  for  adopting  an  ultra-conservative  policy  in  the  face  of  the  many 
demands  being  made  for  higher  ideals  in  medical  education.  But  such  a 
thing  never  occurred  to  him  to  do.  If  the  proposition  was  to  lengthen  the 
hours  of  work,  to  increase  the  burden  of  endeavor  in  any  direction,  if  it 
meant  progress  for  the  school,  he  favored  and  adopted  it.  His  untiring 
devotion  and  support,  his  disposition  to  shift  no  responsibility  or  labor  and, 
finally,  his  unfailing  optimism  have  always  been  factors  in  overcoming  what 
appeared  at  first  sight  to  be  almost  insurmountable  obstacles  and  difficulties. 
In  October,  1902,  Dr.  Kober  brought  before  the  faculty  the  schedule  of 
minimum  requirements  for  medical  schools  adopted  by  one  of  the  Western 
States,  and  because  of  its  progressive  character  earnestly  advocated  and 
secured  its  adoption.  The  development  of  a  standard  curriculum  for  all 
medical  schools  soon  took  possession  of  his  mind,  and  to  the  perfection  of 
this  scheme  Dr.  Kober  for  several  years  devoted  a  great  deal  of  energy.  In 
1904  he  secured  the  appointment  of  a  committee  by  the  Association  of  Med- 
ical Colleges  to  investigate  this  question,  and  in  1905  the  report  of  this 
committee,  of  which  he  was  chairman,  was  adopted.  In  1906,  Dr.  Kober 
was  elected  president  of  the  association.  It  seems  incredible  that  a  single 
mind  could  develop  such  power  of  concentration  upon  a  single  topic  and  yet 
find  energy  and  opportunity  for  the  pursuit  of  a  great  variety  of  scientific  and 
civic  activities;  activities  which  varied  from  studies  of  the  epidemiology  of 
typhoid  fever  to  sanitary  house  construction ;  from  scientific  work  in  many 
fields  of  public  health  and  hygiene  to  civic  labors  of  multitudinous  variety. 
Nevertheless  this  was  the  case,  for  during  the  early  years  of  his  deanship, 
when  a  thousand  details  of  college  and  hospital  administration  and  con- 
struction continually  harassed  him,  he  found  time  to  keep  up  his  association 

226 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

with  scientific  bodies  of  many  sorts  and  with  civic  and  social  duties  which 
would  have  overwhelmed  the  average  man. 

Dr.  Kober  has  always  been  a  great  detailist  without  being  small  or  petty, 
a  particularist  without  being  narrow  or  prejudiced.  Much  of  his  writing, 
both  scientific  and  secular,  he  has  often  done  with  his  own  pen,  at  what 
must  have  been  prodigious  labor,  so  careful  has  he  always  been  that  any 
piece  of  literary,  scientific  or  even  clerical  work  to  which  his  signature  was 
to  be  affixed  should  be  absolutely  accurate  and  exact. 

The  history  of  our  University  Hospital  is  all  bound  up  with  the  name 
oi  Kober.  At  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  office  of  Dean  in  1901  all  there 
was  of  Georgetown  Hospital  was  a  small  central  wing  located  on  a  plot  of 
ground  next  to  the  corner  of  35th  and  N  streets,  four  stories  and  a  base- 
ment high,  accomihodating  twenty-nine  beds,  which  had  been  built  in  1898 
at  a  cost  of  about  thirty  thousand  dollars  in  money  and  an  amount  of  human 
energy  and  aspiration  too  great  for  adecpiale  description.  For,  this  institu- 
tion small  in  size  at  that  time,  now  grown  to  large  proportions,  represented 
the  realization  of  a  dream  which  all  loyal  medical  sons  of  Georgetown  had 
iiad  for  many  years  to  build  a  clinical  hospital  in  connection  with  the  medical 
school.  Dr.  Kober  had  been  a  leading  spirit  in  this  movement  long  before 
he  became  Dean.  He  had  preached  the  necessity  of  a  hospital  to  be  attached 
to  the  medical  school,  he  had  aroused  enthusiasm  in  his  colleagues  and  the 
public,  he  had  begged  funds  and  given  money  from- his  private  resources: 
in  short,  he  had  worked  with  untiring  enthusiasm  for  the  realization  of  his 
ideal.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  when  he  became  Dean. 
Dr.  Kober's  chief  ambition,  it  may  be  truly  said,  was  to  develop  the  hospital 
idea  in  every  possible  direction.  Anyone  who  will  stand  today  at  3Sth  and 
X  streets  and  contemplate  the  extensive  hospital  buildings  occupying  half  a 
city  block  will  feel  to  what  a  wonderful  extent  his  dreams  have  come  true 
and  how  completely  his  aspirations  have  been  realized.  It  will  be  appre- 
ciated also  with  ecpial  force  what  energy,  wliat  indomitable  will,  what  capacity 
I'or  mental  and  physical  work,  what  hope  and  trust  under  trying  circum- 
^tances,  were  displayed  by  the  man — Our  J)ean — upon  whom  all  these  re- 
^ponsibilties  were  piled. 

Dr.  Kober's  almost  herculean  labors  in  behalf  of  the  University  Hospital 
may  perhaps  be  best  appreciated  l)y  giving  a  brief  account  of  the  develop- 
ments which  have  taken  i)lace  in  its  growth  since  he  became  Dean  of  the 
Medical  .School,  in  each  one  of  which  he  took  a  prominent  part  both  in   il^ 

227 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

tjiigin  and  in  its  progress.  The  original  small  hospital  hnilding  was 
completed  in  August,  1898.  In  1903  the  first  addition  was  completed.  This 
was  a  wing  on  the  east  side,  four  stories  and  basement  high,  which  increased 
the  capacity  of  the  hospital  to  one  hundred  beds.  In  1904  Dr.  Kober  per- 
sonally completed  and  equipped  a  new  operating  amphitheatre  in  memory 
of  his  parents.  In  1907  the  new  nurses'  home  was  built.  In  1908  the  Eisner 
Memorial  addition  to  the  hospital  was  erected,  which  increased  the  capacity 
to  155  beds,  and  other  additions  and  improvements  were  made.  In  1910, 
Mr.  E.  Francis  Riggs  was  interested  by  Dr.  Kober  in  the  subject  of  erecting 
a  maternity  building,  but  the  untimely  death  of  Mr.  Riggs  in  that  year  pre- 
vented him  from  carrying  'out  this  worthy  charity.  His  widow,  however, 
in  191 1  generously  created  the  Francis  Riggs  building  fund  for  the  erection 
of  a  building  in  commemoration  of  her  husband.  The  Riggs  maternity  was 
built  in  191 1.  In  1912  Dr.  Kober  personally  authorized  the  erection  of  a 
building  four  stories  high,  which  was  completed  in  the  same  year,  and  has 
since  been  known  as  the  Kober  Building.  In  19 14  Dr.  Kober  installed  in 
this  addition  a  modern  x-Ray  department.  In  19 17  an  addition  was  made 
to  the  outdoor  department,  which  provided  a  much  greater  space  and  en- 
larged its  facilities.  In  1919  two  wards  were  completed,  with  a  capacity  of 
diirty  beds,  making  the  total  capacity  for  the  hospital  three  hundred  beds. 
The  number  of  patients  treated  in  the  hospital  has  increased  from  273  house 
cases  and  633  dispensary  cases  in  1908  to  4,329  house  patients  and  15,325 
outdoor  patients  in  1919. 

This  short  resume  of  the  development  of  the  University  Hospital  during 
Dr.  Kober's  service  as  Dean  will  give  a  slight  idea  of  the  enormous  labor 
and  responsibility  involved  in  their  realization.  Dr.  Kober  will  always  be 
remembered  as  the  director  and  part  creator  of  this  great  work,  which  in 
itself  would  be  a  sufficient  life  labor  for  any  man.  To  feel  that  he  is  the 
recipient  of  well-merited  praise  and  admiration  from  his  colleagues  and 
friends  and  all  those  who  are  interested  in  Georgetown  University  Hospital 
must  always  be  a  source  of  gratification  to  him. 

In  considering  the  subject  of  Kober  as  Dean  many  interesting  facts  worth 
recording  leap  into  memory.  Unfortunately,  limitations  of  space  forbid  us 
mentioning  them.  There  is  one  circumstance,  however,  which  should  not 
be  forgotten.  Dr.  Kober,  in  1893,  re-introduced  into  the  medical  cur- 
riculum a  course  on  military  surgery  and  hygiene,  for  it  was  at  Georgetown 
in  1864,  during  the  Civil  \\'ar,  that  the  first  course  of  lectures  ever  given  in 

228 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

an  American  medical  school  upon  this  subject  was  delivered  by  Dr.  Thomas 
Antisell  of  the  United  States  Army. 

The  office  of  dean  in  the  modern  medical  school  has  lost  much  if  not  all 
of  its  original  ecclesiastic  significance,  but  Dr.  Kober  in  his  unselfish  and 
untiring  devotion  to  Georgetown  has  managed  to  reflect  upon  his  work  some 
of  the  spirituality  of  the  ancient  Decani.  It  will  remain  for  the  future  his- 
torian of  our  Alma  Mater- — some  future  Easby-Smith  renowned  in  classical 
scholarship  and  love  for  Georgetown — to  write  the  complete  history  of  the 
deanship  of  George  Alartin  Kober.  In  the  meanwhile  it  is  the  wish  of  all 
ihat  he  may  be  spared  for  many  years  to  contemplate  the  fruition  of  his  long 
labors  and  see  them  grow  into  even  greater  things. 


John  A.  Foote,  AI.D.,  'o6. 
Associate  Professor  of  Clinical  Medicine,  Georgetown  Medical  School. 

I  do  not  think  that  any  phase  of  Dr.  Kober's  career  is  better  known  than 
that  of  his  paternal  attitude  toward  the  student  in  the  medical  school.  There 
may  have  been  some  students  who  passed  through  the  modest  building  on  H 
Street  with  little  or  no  jjersonal  contact  with  the  Dean  except  in  the  lecture 
room,  but  there  are  not  many  such.  Few  men  can  live  four  years  in  the 
modern  medical  school  without  some  sort  of  worry — scholastic,  financial — 
or  what  not.  To  the  students  in  trouble  Dr.  Kober  is  best  known,  not  as  the 
exemplar  of  retributive  justice,  but  rather  as  "one  who  was  born  for  the 
world  rather  than  for  himself." 

The  delinquent  student  may  have  worried  about  his  class  standing  more  than 
rhe  Dean — but  he  did  not  grieve  as  much  as  Dr.  Kober.  The  Dean  has  a 
soft  spot  in  his  heart  for  those  boys  whom  he  has  often  referred  to  as  "weak 
vessels."  Indeed,  he  has  frequently  stood  in  a  painful  position- — his  affection 
for  the  student  balanced  against  his  desire  to  uphold  the  high  standing  of  the 
graduates  from  the  institution  which  he  loves  so  well. 

Poor  indeed  in  discernment  is  the  man  who  does  not  see  the  friendly  interest 
and  feel  the  kindly  urge  of  Dr.  Kober's  friendship  at  all  such  times,  and  many 
a  heedless  or  many  a  loitering  candidate  for  a  degree  has  l)een  spurred  to 
hopeful  action  by  the  knowledge  that  he  has  a  real  friend  in  the  Dean's  office, 
who  believes  in  liim  and  counsels  him  as  a  father  might  counsel  a  son. 


A  N  N  1  V  E  R  S  .\  R  Y     TRIBUTE. 

1  don't  think  anyone  will  really  know  how  many  students  have  gone  to  him 
with  their  Iniancial  proljlems.  It  is  safe  to  say  lliat  no  individual  willing  to 
work  has  ever  ajjplied  in  \ain  to  him  for  aid  in  eking  out  tuition  at  the 
medical  school. 

Dr.  Koher  believes  that  "faith  without  good  works  is  dead."  He  is  him- 
self an  untiring  worker  and  he  has  always  expected  his  students  to  work, 
it  was  Dr.  John  Brown,  who  said  :  'T  don't  expect  my  students  to  know  every- 
thing, but  I  expect  everyone  of  them  to  be  able  to  do  something."  Dr.  Kober 
is  tolerant  of  the  man  who  is  not  unusually  intelligent,  provided  he  atones 
for  it  by  being  consistently  industrious.  Laziness  and  wastefulness,  especially 
of  time,  he  always  has  and  always  will  abhor. 

I  can  remember  very  distinctly  how  in  my  student  days  the  Dean  invited 
me  to  his  home  to  attend  a  meeting  of  a  local  medical  society,  how  on  another 
occasion  he  talked  with  me  on  the  necessity  of  the  younger  man  doing  origi- 
nal work  and  showed  me  a  splendid  Ijrochure  on  urinalysis  which  he  had 
written  when  both  himself  and  this  branch  of  clinical,  medicine  were  com- 
parativelv  young.  This  was  only  one  of  his  methods  of  edtication  employed 
with  the  hope  of  making  the  student  think  for  himself  and  have  confidence  in 
his  own  judgments  and  potentialities. 

Some  day  Dr.  Kober  may  l)e  induced  to  i)ublish  a  book  of  letters  from 
fathers  taken  from  the  large  collection  of  these  epistles  which  he  has  received. 
Very  soon  the  father  of  the  student  discovers  the  paternal  strain  in  Dr- 
Kober,  and  that  is  why  the  latter's  correspondence  is  so  voluminous.  From 
counseling  wavward  sons  to  disbursing  monthly  stipends — all  sorts  of  offices 
have  been  intrusted  to  him  by  confiding  old  gentlemen,  and  many  of  these 
rhe  Dean  has  gravely  performed,  possibly  because  of  the  innate  courtesy  which 
so  characterizes  him,  but  more  probably  because  he  secretly  likes  these  offices 
f>f  \-icarious  fatherhood  to  be  thrust  upon  him. 

As  a  teacher  in  the  lecture  room  it  was  always  observed  that  the  lectures 
on  hygiene  were  well  attended  and  that  excellent  notes  were  taken  by  the 
students.  Dr.  Kober's  lectures  in  hygiene  were  carefully  written  and  delivered 
slowlv  and  with  a  \ocal  di.stinctness  that  was  eminently  satisfying.  The 
largest  annual  attendance — recruits  coming  often  from  both  upper  and  lower 
classes— was  always  noted  at  about  the  time  when  comuicrcial  beverages 
were  being  considered,  l)ecanse  it  was  at  one  time  the  custom  to  have  the 
classes  inspect,  not  only  wholesale  bottling  establishments  and  dairies,  Imt 
also  a  brewery  IcK'ated  near  the  Museum  of  Hygiene.  Needless  to  say  the 
maximum  attendance  came  and  the  most  diligent  attention  was  observed  at  the 

230 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

lectures  on  fermented  beverages.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  yonng  men  in  testing 
on  themselves  the  physiological  action  of  the  malt  beverages — these  experi- 
ments l^eing  made  possible  by  the  too  generous  hospitality  of  the  brewers  on 
visits  of  inspection,  obliged  the  cessation  of  one  very  popular  feature  of  the 
course  in  hygiene  and  dietetics. 

To  the  thoughtful  student,  Dr.  Kober  has  always  seemed  more  than  a 
friend,  a  counselor,  or  a  teacher.  The  lesson  of  unselfish  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  medical  education  which  he  instilled  by  his  long  hours  spent  at  the 
school  each  day,  his  efforts  to  know  and  properly  value  the  w^ork  of  each 
student,  his  personal  gifts  to  the  University  Hospital,  and  his  scrupulous 
attendance  at  all  University  functions,  have  long  made  him  more  an  institu- 
tion than  a  mere  individual — one  whom  we  did  not  judge  by  the  ordinary 
values  with  whicH  we  measure  men.  but  rather  as  one  concerning  whom  we 
might  quote  the  lines  from  Othello : 

"He  hath  a  daily  beauty  in  his  life 
Which  makes  me  ugly." 

(gpiirgf  ilarttn  IKnbpr 

An  Appreci<ition. 
Llewellyn  Eliot,  M.D..  '74. 

Seventy  years  today;  seventy  years  of  service!  It  seems  impossible  for 
me  to  realize  that  for  forty-nine  of  these  George  Martin  Kober  has  been 
my  fast  friend  and  my  guide. 

Our  acquaintance  was  formed  during  Septeml>er,  187 1.  when  he  became 
.'1  student  of  medicine  in  my  father's  office,  and  as  the  years  rolled  by  this 
acquaintance  was  cemented  by  a  strong  bond  of  friendship.  Looking  to 
those,  years  it  has  been  amazing  that  we  shoukl  have  been  friends,  since 
George  Kober  was  my  very  antithesis  in  point  of  disposition  and  habits. 
He  was  studious,  moderate,  modest  and  retiring,  while  I,  on  the  other  hand, 
did  not  cultivate  these  qualities  so  faithfully.  .\s  a  pupil  his  intelligence  and 
understanding,  his  industry  and  perseverance  made  him  a  graduate  of  whom 
any  instructor  could  well  be  proud.  While  he  was  a  student  we  were  serving 
as  hospital  stewards  in  the  army ;  and  after  his  graduation  Dr.  Kober  became 
one  of  the  first  matriculants  in  Dr.  J.  Harry  Thompson's  School  of  Obstetrics 
and   (iynecology,    where  he  passed  his  e.xaminations   without   an   error,   but 

2;n 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

Dr.  Thompson  was  forl)i(lden  l)y  the  Secretary  oi  War  to  award  diplomas, 
inasmuch  as  his  school  liad  hecn  established  without  oificial  authority. 

We  next  find  Dr.  Koher  as  a  contract  surgeon  in  the  army  at  Alcatraz 
Island,  California,  serving  willi  that  faithfulness  to  duty  characteristic  of 
the  man.  and  it  was  here  that  he  added  the  study  of  hygiene  to  his  other 
accomi)lishments. 

His  model  reports  to  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  California  were  widely 
circulated,  but  the  first  paper  published  by  Dr.  Kober  himself  was  a  study 
of  Infantile  Paralysis,  in  the  early  seventies.  Then  came  a  Manual  on 
Urinary  Analysis,  and  soon  a  treatise  on  "A  Case  of  Gun-shot  Wound  of  the 
Knee  Joint."  In  this  Dr.  Kober  described  the  use  of  tincture  of  iodine  as  an 
antiseptic,  and  I  believe  this  to  be  the  first  published  report  of  such  a  use 
for  iodine.  No  attention  was  then  paid  to  this  treatment,  but  Dr.  Kober 
Loday  sees  the  general  adoption  of  his  idea  by  the  profession,  although  due 
to  his  modesty  it  is  only  recently  that  his  claim  to  priority  has  been  mentioned. 

Since  those  early  days  his  publications,  each  one  marked  by  a  master's 
hand,  have  become  legion,  and  these,  with  his  splendid  work  at  Gein'getown 
Liniversity  Hospital,  have  brought  him  honors  and  official  positions  at  home 
and  abroad. 

To  write  more  of  Dr.  Kober  would  encroach  upon  the  fields  of  others  of 
liis  friends  who  will  wish  to  pay  him  tribute,  but  none  would  begrudge  the 
space  in  which  I  tender  my  congratulations  and  my  wishes  for  continued 
years  of  health  and  happiness  to  a  true  friend,  a  genial  companion,  an  earnest 
student,  a  diligent  worker  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  a  charitable  and  godly 
man.     What  else  may  one  say? 

Srtbutp  nf  th^  Efu.  31.  HawuB  Etrl^arbH,  ^.  31. 

President  of  Gcorgctozvn  Unk'crsity,   1888-1898. 

J  am  rejoiced  to  learn  that  our  dear  dean  and  devoted  friend,  Dr.  Kober, 
IS  about  to  celebrate  his  seventieth  birthday  and  to  be  myself  privileged  to 
add  my  congratulations  to  those  of  his  many  intimate  friends.  To  grow 
old  is  not  always  a  pleasant  thing  and  a  cause  of  rejoicing,  in  spite  of  the 
advantages  set  forth  so  attractively  by  Cicero  in  the  treatise  De  Senectute 
'hat  is  read  with  such  trustfulness  by  your  youthful  students.  But  to  grow 
old  and  vet  remain  young — that  is  an  achievement  worthy  of  admiration  and 
joy !     And  this  is  truly  Dr.  Kober's  privilege. 

232 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  the  doctor  was  at  the  centennial  celebration 
of  the  College  in  February,  1889.  He  was  then  in  the  middle  years  and  had 
not  yet  begun  those  extensive  and  careful  researches  in  hygienic  science  or 
other  departments  that  have  since  rendered  him  so  well  known  and  distin- 
guished in  his  profession.  Anyone  who  may  be  curious  can  find  his  portrait 
in  the  centennial  group  photograph,  in  the  first  line  of  the  alumni  present,  and 
will  be  struck  by  the  fact  that  it  differs  scarcely  a  particle  from  his  appear- 
ance today. 

Some  time  afterwards  I  received  a  note  from  him,  dated  from  somewhere 
in  the  wilds  and  mountain  fastnesses  of  Idaho,  respectfully  drawing  my  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  an  omission  had  occurred  in  the  awarding  of  honorarv 
degrees  at  the  academic  sessinn  of  the  celebration.  He  considered  that  Dr. 
Fthelbert  Carroll  Alorgan,  then  professor  of  laryngology  in  our  Medical 
Schocjl,  but  a  hopeless  invalid,  was  eminently  worthy  of  an  honorary  degree. 
He  set  forth  strongly  the  distinguished  position  held  l)y  Dr.  Morg-an  in  his 
specialty  and  his  international  reputation,  evidenced  l)y  his  incumbencv  as 
president  of  the  American  Association  of  Laryngologists.  He  added  that 
])esides  his  eminent  w^orthiness,  the  shadow  of  his  approaching  end  would 
make  the  conferring  of  the  honor  a  graceful  and  consoling  tribute.  Being 
then  quite  fresh  in  ofiice  and  not  having  had  the  privilege  of  birth  or  residence 
In  Maryland,  I  was  not  acquainted  with  the  historic  family  of  Morgan,  so 
intimately  connected  from  the  earliest  times  with  the  Jesuit  h'athers,  save 
that  I  had  laitght  Dr.  Carroll's  younger  l)rotIicr.  j.  Dndlev  Ab)rgan  (  wlio 
later  became  a  distinguished  figure  in  medical  circles  in  Washington)  in  the 
class  of  physics  in  his  graduating  year.  But  inquiry  among  those  who  knew 
confirmed  Dr.  Kober's  estimate  of  this  professor.  The  degree  was  awarded 
at  the  next  commencement  in  June,   1889. 

That  incident  was  characteristic  of  deorge  M.  Kober.  He  never  thinks 
of  himself,  but  is  keenly  alive  to  the  interests  and  happiness  of  his  friends 
and  the  furtherance  of  every  good  and  noble  cause. 

When  Dr  Kober  returned  from  the  Wild  West,  in  189:^.  and  became  |>or- 
in.anently  associated  with  our  faculty  as  pr(»fessor  of  hygiene,  ni\-  ac(|iiaintance 
with  him  became  more  intimate  and  ripened  into  warm  friendship.  I  do  not 
think  it  i)ossil)le  for  anyone  to  really  know  Dr.  Kober  and  not  lo\e  him. 

It  was  in  the  foundation  of  the  (leorgelown  l'ni\ersitv  Hospital,  toward 
ilie  end  of  mv  term  as  president,  that  I  was  most  cIosel\'  .associated  with  \)y. 
Kober.      lie  was  not   the  very  first  to  work   for  the  hospil.al.  but   he  was  by 

2;i3 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

far  the  most  devoted  and  efficient  factor  in  its  inception,  as  he  has  been  in 
its  growth  and  expansion.  If  the  history  of  the  hospital  is  ever  written  in 
detail,  as  it  no  doubt  will  be,  the  name  of  Kober  will  shine  therein  with  a 
lustre  beyond  all  others. 

At  that  time  the  faculty  and  directors  of  the  College  had  in  view  and  in 
desire  three  great  objectives — a  gymnasium,  a  preparatory  department  sepa- 
rate in  locality  from  the  College  itself  and  a  school  of  physical  science  and 
engineering.     In  remote  preparation   for  the  accomplishment  of  the  last  of 
these  projects.   Dr.    Edgar   Kid  well,   now   head   of  the   Kidwell   Boiler   and 
Engineering  Company  of  Milwaukee,  had  made  a  tour  of  inspection  of  the 
leading  engineering  schools  of  the  East  and  had  handed  in  estimates  of  the 
faculty  and  ecpiipment  needed  for  a  start  and  of  the  probable  expense.     But 
when  Dr.  George  L.  Magruder,  then  the  energetic  and  devoted  dean  of  the 
medical  department,  reported  that  the.  professors  had  reached  the  conclusion 
that  a  hospital  of  our  own  was  an  absolute  and  pressing  necessity,  all  other 
ambitions  were  laid  aside  for  the  time  being  and  all  energies  were  devoted 
to  this  object.     Dr.  Magruder  and  I  called  one  Sunday  morning  on  Martin 
F.  Morris,  the  venerable  dean  emeritus  of  the  law  faculty  and  the  chief  ad- 
viser of  the  College,   and,   in  company  with  Mr.   Morris,  went  to  see   Mr. 
Elisha  Francis  Riggs,  who  had  shortly  before  fitted  up  the  Riggs  Library 
of   the   College.     \\'e   were   most  cordially   received,    and   to   encourage  the 
movement  Mr.  Riggs  subscribed  immediately  one  thousand  dollars.     A  com- 
mittee was  promptly  organized  to  raise  the  necessary  funds,  of  which  body 
Dr.  Kober  was  made  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  soon  proved  to  be  the  very 
soul.     As  the  president  of  the  University  is  ex-officio  the  beggar-in-chief,  I 
was  brought  into  constant  contact  with  Dr.  Kober  in  our  efforts  to  stimulate 
the  generosity  of  our  friends  and  the  general  public.     At  that  time  the  sys- 
tematic drives  of  the  present  day  were  unknown.     Our  methods  were  com- 
paratively crude  and  ineffective.     \Ye  had  secured  the  cordial  approbation  of 
His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  who  consented  gladly  to  our  inviting  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Francis  of  Glenriddle,  Pa.,  to  this  portion  of  his  archdiocese. 
We  had  the  no  less  hearty  co-operation  of  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Ryan  of 
Philadelphia,  whose  consent  was  necessary  to  the  coming  of  the  Sisters.     We 
had  the  enthusiastic  welcome  of  the  people  of  Georgetown  to  the  plan.     But  we 
had   no  money;  and   the  task  of  getting  it  proved  anything  but   easy  and 
agreeable.     We  received  nuich  sympathy  but  little  cash.     I  can  never  forget 
the  self-devotion  and  constancy  with  which  Dr.   Kober  pursued  the   quest. 
It  was  due  to  his  initiative  that  the  first  room  was  founded  by  Mr.  Lisner, 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

whose  interest,  once  awakened,  continued  until  it  resulted  in  after  years  in 
the  erection  of  a  separate  wing  of  the  hospital.  Finally  Dr.  Kober  and  I 
made  a  personal  canvass  of  a  number  of  the  business  houses  of  Washington. 
We  were  always  respectfully,  frequently  cordially,  received.  But  rebuffs 
were  not  wanting  and  the  sums  subscribed  were  in  general  pitifully  small, 
i  doubt  whether  I  would  have  had  the  courage  to  persevere  had  it  not  been 
tor  the  example  of  my  companion's  constancy  and  self-abnegation  in  the 
work.  His  imperturbal:)le  good  humor  and  optimism  in  the  face  of  difficul- 
ties were  a  perpetual  inspiration. 

When  the  first  tiny  building  was  finished,  with  a  capacity,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  of  onl}-  twenty-se\'en  beds,  and  the  Sisters  had  arrived  and  taken 
charge,  Dr.  Koljer's  sympathy  and  assistance  were  unfailing.  The  equip- 
ment of  the  operating  room  was  his  gift,  the  forerunner  of  his  larger  bene- 
factions in  the  same  line  W'hen  the  greater  buiklings  were  added.  He  recog- 
nized in  the  good  Sisters  kindred  spirits  to  his  own.  Their  lives  of  heroic 
.^elf  devotion  without  hope  of  earthly  reward  mirrored  his  ideal.  Their 
Superior.  Sister  Pauline,  to  whom  the  Hospital  owes  much  of  its  success 
and  present  prosperity,  always  found  in  him  a  faithful  friend,  a  wi.se  adviser 
and  a  most  devoted  helper. 

I  leave  to  others  to  speak  of  Dean  Kober's  eminence  in  his  profession  and 
his  chosen  specialty,  of  his  researches  in  the  statistics  of  the  drug  habit  and 
other  fields  of  Preventive  Medicine,  of  his  activity  and  influence  in  various 
<ientific  .societies  and  particularly  as  President  of  the  Association  of  .American 
Medical  Colleges,  of  his  precision  and  unalterable  patience  as  a  professor,  of  his 
wide  interest  in  civic  and  philanthropic  enterprises  and  most  important  of  all. 
lu's  wise  and  tactful  administration  as  Dean  of  the  Medical  Faculty  of  George- 
town University.  In  my  humble  judgment,  in  the  whole  record  of  the  activi-- 
lies  of  his  .seventy  years  no  item  will  stand  out  more  prominently  llian  his 
creative  and  sustaining  work  for  the  Cleorgetown  L'niversity  Hospital. 

liut  greater  than  all  that  Dr.  Kober  has  done  is  what  he  is!  A  soul  of 
crystalline  sincerity,  a  modesty  and  self-effacement  betokening  true  humilitv. 
yet  a  courage  that  faints  at  no  obstacles,  a  heart  overflowing  with  kindliness 
and  love  toward  every  human  being — all  these  united  to  a  mind  of  clear 
r^cientific  vision  and  habits  of  patient  and  i>ersi.stent  labor — that  according  to 
my  analysis  is  the  constituent  formula  ot"  Dr.  Kober's  character —  and  a  r.'ire 
and  ])recious  combination  it  is!  1  may  even  go  a  step  further,  and  without, 
1  hope,  trespassing  upon  precincts  that  ought  to  be  sacred,  may  sav  that  his 
iirofoundly  religious  spirit   is  a  worthy  example  to  men  of  .\atural   Science 

235 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

and  a  proof  that  the  most  exalted  knowledge  of  natural  phenomena  and  prin- 
ciples may  and  ought  to  dwell  with  the  simplest  and  most  intense  faith.  His 
soul  is  too  wide  to  harbor  any  narrow  bigotry.  Sturdy  Lutheran  as  he  is 
in  profession,  his  heart  is  so  truly  Catholic  that  he  might  easily  be  mistaken 
for  a  Jesuit  in  disguise! 

This  celebration  is  in  no  sense  a  farewell !  I  do  not  indeed  expect  to  be 
present  at  the  exercises  nn  Dr.  Kober's  ninetieth  birthday,  but  only  because 
long  before  that  happy  exent.  I  shall  have  passed  to  a  better  world,  where 
doctors  are  unnecessary  and  death  shall  be  no  more !  But  I  do  confidently 
expect  that  God  will  grant  me  the  privilege  of  seeing  from  the  eternal  hills 
my  old  friend  still  hale  and  he.arlv  and  radiating  light,  goodness  and  happi- 
ness as  he  has  done  in  the  first  sexentv  vears  of  his  existence! 


So  ir.  2Cnb?r 

(On  the  celebration  of  his  seventieth  anniversary.) 

7V:»  ministcv,  to  case  the  restless  pain; 

To  bring  to  fevered  spirit  courage  new; 

To  keep  a  comrade's  silent  vigil  through 
The  aging  hours,  as  life  slips  hack  again 
Into  Eternity;  to  head  the  train 

Of  nezv-born's  heralds  in  the  niorning  dew 

Of  life's  first  rosy  infant  dawn;  to  viezv 
With  charity  mail's  boasted  strength  so  vain; 

All  this,  and  threescore  honored  years  and  ten 
Are  yours,  each  graven  with  the  artist's  care, 

In  finest  lines  of  kindness  tozvard  men 
To  leave  on  ev'ry  heart  an  impress  rare. 

A  greeting?    Aye!    Let  salutations  pay 

All  mankind's  debt  on  this,  the  Doctor's  Day! 

Edward  F.  Mack,  A.B.,  '20. 

236 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

^hhv^BB  Srfor?  tit?  ^porg^tomn  ^Itmral  ^omtg 

James  A.  Gannon,  M.D.,  '06. 
Associate  Clinical  P.rofcssor  of  Surgery,  Georgetoztm  Medical  School. 

[t  is  particularly  fitting  that  the  Georgetown  Clinical  Society,  which  is 
composed  of  his  former  students,  should  meet  on  this  occasion  to  remind  Dr. 
Kober  of  the  love  and  esteem  we  have  for  him.  He  will  receive  many  honors 
this  month  at  the  hands  of  his  other  scientific  and  civil  associates  but  he  will 
hear  no  words  of  congratulation  which  are  more  sincere,  more  heartfelt 
than  those  we  extend  to  him  tonight. 

We  meet  to  celebrate  his  seventieth  birthday ;  to  show  him  how  glad  we 
are  that  the  completion  of  three  score  and  ten  years  of  useful  life  finds 
him  in  the  prime  of  mental  and  physical  vigor;  to  remark  how  lightly  the 
hand  of  time  rests  on  his  shoulders. 

We  sometimes  speak  of  one  who  has  passed  seventy  years  as  old,  but  Dr. 
Kober  is  not  old.  If  ripe  judgment  born  of  much  experience  is  a  sign  of 
age,  if  vast  knowledge  caused  by  much  study  and  industry  is  another  sign; 
if  high  esteem  and  great  reputation  among  his  fellow  men,  the  result  of 
devotion  to  duty  and  contributions  to  scientific  literature,  constitute  another 
sign — then  indeed  Dr.  Kober  is  not  seventy  Init  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old. 

I  met  Dr.  Kober  eighteen  years  ago  when  1  enrolled  as  a  student  at  the 
Medical  School.  When  I  reached  my  third  year  I  took  his  course  in  Hygiene. 
At  the  close  of  this  year  we  had  our  first  misunderstanding.  This  is  how  it 
came  about.  I  figured  that  by  paying  close  attention  and  taking  careful  notes, 
it  would  not  be  necessary  for  me  to  purchase  a  text  book  on  Hygiene  and  I 
did  not  purchase  one.  My  omission  somehow  came  to  Dr.  Kober's  notice 
and  I  was  unable  to  explain  that  it  was  due  to  the  clarity  of  his  lectures  and  to 
the  economic  principles  with  which  he  sometimes  punctuated  his  remarks. 
During  my  more  or  less  stormy  career  as  an  interne  at  Georgetown  Hospital, 
I  had  occasion  more  than  once  to  l)e  guided  by  his  good  advice  thereby  pre- 
venting, I  am  sure,  the  world  having  another  proof  that  youth  and  wisdom 
are  seldom  companions.  Many  times,  since  I  have  been  in  practice  1  have 
sought  his  good  advice  which  has  always  been  sound  and  worth  following. 

His  scientific  attainments  are  many,  but  as  1  see  Dr.  Kober,  he  would  be 
great  without  even  these,  for  lie  possesses  a  virtue  which  is  too  rarelv  found 
in  this  world — charity.     Most  of  the  Ten  Commandments  are  written  around 

237 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

ibis  virtue  and  he  who  possesses  it  to  the  extent  Dr.  Kober  has  shown,  is 
^reat  if  he  has  no  other  attainments  to  liis  credit.  His  whole  hfe  has  been 
one  of  sacrifice  and  devotion  to  his  fellow  man.  Since  his  retirement  from 
the  army,  his  activities  have  been  toward  making  the  world  a  better  place  in 
which  to  live.  His  Medical  School  and  Hospital  affiliations,  his  membership 
on  the  Board  of  Charities  and  on  various  commissions  for  the  betterment  of 
morality  and  living  conditions  of  less  fortunate  men,  his  numerous  contribu- 
tions to  scientific  literature  and  his  legacy  to  posterity  in  the  form  of  a  volume 
on  Industrial  Diseases — have  all  brought  work  and  worry  and  responsibility 
and  practically  no  financial  reward.  It  has  been  a  matter  of  enthusiastic  com- 
ment, especially  among  his  former  students,  that,  although  Dr.  Kober  has  Ijeen 
out  of  active  practice  for  many  years,  he  has  kept  up  with  present  day  med- 
ical accomplishment.  At  medical  meetings  we  have  all  heard  him  bring  out 
some  point  in  the  discussion  which  was  unknown  to  the  essayist  wlio  had 
given  much  time  and  thought  to  the  preparation  of  his  paper.  Often  when 
his  day's  work  is  done  and  he  would  be  doing  more  justice  to  himself  by 
resting  at  home,  he  can  be  found  attending  smokers  and  meetings  where 
medical  students  congregate,  instructing  them,  advising  them,  inspiring  them. 
He  takes  great  pride  in  tln)se  he  calls  liis  boys  and  1  doubt  if  there  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Medical  School  since  Dr.  Kober  has  been  Dean  whose  record  is 
not  known  to  him.  There  are  few  members  of  the  faculty  who  caniKJt  recall 
the  interest  he  has  had  in  each  meml)er  of  the  graduating  class.  When  final 
examinations  were  being  held,  who  cannot  remember  the  moisture  in  his 
eye  and  the  emotion  in  his  voice  when  he  discovered  the  failure  of  .some  stu- 
dent to  attain  sufficient  credits  to  allow  him  to  receive  his  diploma? 

Dr.  Kober,  we  have  all  l)een  of  those  medical  students  to  whom  you  have 
devoted  your  life;  and  as  children  appreciate  their  parents  more  after  child- 
hood is  past,  so  with  the  passing  years  we  have  learned  to  appreciate  you 
more.  We  feel  that  we  are  better  doctors  and  l)ctter  citizens  because  of 
vour  influence. 


L'.'iS 


on  hycilneaMj 

DE^OGPfAPHr 


"WathiHji^  .y^y. 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

In  closing  I  desire  to  read  a  short  verse  by  Leigh  Hunt,  which  is  famih'ar 
o  most  of  yon,  and  which  could  be  written  with  truth  about  Dr.  Kober. 

Abou  Ben  Adhein   {may  Jiis  tribe  increase!) 
A-cVokc  one  night  from  a  deep  dream  of  pea<:e, 
And  saw  within  the  moonlight  in  his  room, 
Making  it  rich,  and  like  a  lily  in  bloom, 
An  angel  uriting  in  a  book  of  gold: — 
Exceeding  peace  had  made  Ben  Adhem  bold, 
And  to  the  Presence  in  the  room  lie  said, 
"What  writest   thou?"— The  vision   raised  its  head, 
And,  zcith  a  look  made  of  all  S7i'eet  accord. 
Answered,  "The  names  of  those  who  love  the  Lord." 
"And  is  mine  one?"  said  Abou.      "Nay,  not  so," 
Replied  the  angel.     Abou  spoke  more  low, 
But  eheeril\  still;  and  said,  "I  pray  thee,  then, 
Write  me  as  one  wJio  loves  his  fellow  men." 

^  The  Angel  wrote  and  vanished.     The  next  night 

It  came  again  with  a  great  wakening  light. 
And  showed  the  names  whom  Urve  of  God  had  blessed. 
And  lo!  Ben  Ad  hem's  naine  led  all  the  rest. 


2:5!) 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE 


(Dr.  (Jeorge  M.  Kober.  who  recently  celebrated  his  70th  birthday,  began  liis  career  as  a 

pliysiciau  in  1S73. ) 

Almost  a  half  ccnlury  ago 

He  y'lrdcd  on  his  annoiir  for  the  tight 
Against  the  ereepimj  hordes  of  F\iiu  and  JVoe, 
Almost  a  half  century  ago,* 

The  petaled  pliiiiis  of  ease,  bedecked  and  bright, 

Allured  him  not,  he  faced  creation's  blight 

And  girded  on  his  armour  for  the  tight 
Almost  a  half  century  ago. 

When  the  bright  torch  lie  reared  aloft  is  dim 

Many  a  lif'  7vill  linger  o'er  his  name 
Breathing  a  million  blessi)igs  oi'cr  him. 
Ulien  the  briglit  torch  he  reared  aloft  is  dim. 

Not  scrii'oied  gold,  nor  the  glad  cry  of  Fame 

Shall  ser-ee  his  humble  greatness  to  proclaim: 

Manx  a  lip  leill  linger  o'er  his  name 
When  the  bright  torch  he  raised  aloft  is  dim. 

John  A.  Foote,  M.D.,  '06. 


•240 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE 


A  Srtbutp  to  ir.  SCnbFr 

From  a  Pre-Medical  Student. 

Three  score  and  ten  hath  lightly  laid  its  crown 

Of  fruitful  toil  upon  thy  thoughtful  hrozv. 
For  you  Heaven's  ''Well  Done"  comes  softly  down 

To  approve  thy  task  and  us  -with  hope  endozv. 
You  sought  to  make  life  a  smoother  path  for  all 

To  tread  its  uncertain  zcay  zcith  steady  stride 
And  ever  quick  to  heed  Pain's  gasping  call 

To  ease  her  ache  ami  leaz'c  "good  cheer"  beside. 

So  upon  this  da\  so  fraught  zcith  tender  charm 
IV e  semi  aloft  this  prayer  for  you  our  friend, 

"May  God  e'er  keep  your  love  and  friendship  zvarm 
For  those  to  zchoni  your  Jieritage  zi'ill  descend. 

Ripe  tho  u)i plucked!  Fearless  thy  God  to  faee! 

When  plucked  thou  art,  zee  ask.  hut  to  till  thy  place. 

Thomas  E.  Mattingly. 


1:41 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE 


Hfrtlf 


IVcr  so  wic  Du  in  cincui  rcicJicn  Lcbcn 
Des  Wissens  iind  dcs  Herzcns  ganze  Kraft 
Dem  VVohl  der  Menschhcit  vdllig  hingegchcn, 
IVer  redlich,  uncrmiidlich  hat  geschaift, 
IV er  in  den  Dicnst  harmhcrc ger  Ndchstenliebe 
Sein  Wollen  imd  sein  Konnen  hut  gestellt: 
Der  sorgte  selbst,  dass  ihm  bestdndig  bliebe 
Die  Achtiing  und  die  Ehre  dieser  Welt. 

Aiis  deiitschein  Stauini  in  dieses  Land  gekunwicn 
Hast  Du,  von  Deiner  Rasse  Geist  bclebt, 
Dem  hehren  Zicl,  das  Du  Dir  vorgenoninien, 
In  treuein  PflicJitbeiinisstsein  ziigestrcbt. 
Dies  -Pflichtbezvitsstsein,  Deiner   Vdter  Brbe, 
Hat  imm€r  Dich  den  rechten  Weg  gelehrt 
Und  Du  hast  cs,  zi'ar  audi  der  Weg  oft  hcrbe, 
Dem  neuen  Land  als  treuer  Suhn  bewcihrt. 

Ein  Lehrer  bist  Du  tausenden  gezvesen 

Und  tausendc  hat  Deine  Kiinst  geheilt, 

Not  und  Gebreste  machtest  Du  gcnesen, 

Wo  imnier  Segeu  stiftcnd  Du  geweilt. 

War  je  ein  Leid,  das  Dir  nicht  sprach  ::um  Her:;en? 

Je  eine  Not,  zvo  Du  nicht  half  est  gem? 

Gabst  Du  Dein  Bestes  nicht,  rr//  lindevn  Schmcrzenf 

Was  menschlich  ist,  stand  nic  und  nie  Dir  fern. 

So  stehst  in  Deiner  sieb::ig  Jahre  Kran:;e 
Du  heut  geehrt,  bewundert  und  gelicbt, 
So  kront  den  Ehrentag  mit  hcUeni  Glanze 
Ein  Gli'ick,  das  lauter  ist  und  ungctriibt: 
Denn  blickest  aiif  die  Summt'  Deines  Lebens 
Am  heut' gen  Tage  priifend  Du  surilck, 
Dann  siehst  Du,  dass  Du  lebtest  nicht  vergebens, 
Und  das  zu  seh'n  ist  seltnes  Menschengliick. 

Gewidmet  vom  Knrt  Voelkner  am  28.   Marz   1920 

242 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

iEititnrial 

Georgetown  College  Journal,  March,  1920. 
Joseph  R.  Mickler.  Jr.,  A.B.,  '20. 

To  few  men  is  it  given  to  live  their  allotted  span  of  three  score  and  ten 
years  in  devotion  to  dnty  and  in  service  to  humanity,  and  finally  to  find 
ihemselvcs  at  the  end  of  those  years  with  their  sacrifices  appreciated  and  their 
services  recognized.  History  is  replete  with  the  lives  of  men  whose  praises 
were  not  chanted  until  many  years  after  they  had  been  laid  to  rest  in  the 
unbreakable  silence  of  the  tomb ;  where,  we  may  believe,  the  sound  of  chant- 
ing voices  is  not  heard.  But  of  the  men  who  win  acknowledgments  of  their 
good  works  before  they  pass  on.  one  hears  but  seldom.  It  is  the  way  of 
fame,  to  place  a  wreath  of  laurel  on.  a  piece  of  dull,  cold  marble;  leaving  the 
living  brow  uncrowned. 

So  that  a  man  who  receives  a  generous  meed  of  earthly  glory  from  his 
.contemporaries,  and  that,  too,  without  any  of  his  own  seeking,  nuist  of 
neces.'iity  have  that  about  him  which  stamps  him  as  worthy.  I  do  not  know 
(ieorge  Martin  Kober  in  jjerson ;  I  feel  that  i  do  not  liaxe  to.  I  know  his 
works  and  1  know  his  friends,  and  I  feel  that  by  knowing  them  1  ha\e  known 
him  as  well.  They  l)oth  declare  that  if  e\er  lixing  man  was  well  worlln- 
to  wear  the  mantle  of  highest  honors,  he  is  that  man.  With  their  testimony 
]  am  gladly  content:  since  his  works  and  his  friends  are  eciualK^  insistent 
in  compelling  admiration  for  the  man  whose  seventv  years  have  been  spent 
in  generous  service  to  mankind. 

Seventy  years!  Years  crowded  with  episode,  warmed  with  altruism, 
lighted  with  courage;  gliding  years,  mo\ing  now  slowlv.  now  swiftly,  as  their 
burdens  were  light  or  heavy,  but  gdiding  always  onward  to  tiie  fulfillment  of 
their  glorious  promise.  .\nd  now,  to  the  eyes  of  youth,  it  seems  that  at 
last  he.  George  Martin  Kober,  must  surely  have  attained  the  completest  ful- 
fillment. Loved,  honored.  res])ected.  and  secure  in  the  consciousness  of  work 
well  done  can  he  ask  more  of  life  than  life  has  alreadv  given?  To  be  sure, 
he  must  ha\e  met  with  withering  disenchanimenls.  undergone  a  \ast  amount 
of  mental  drubbing  during  the  eventful  years.  The  vigorous  liian  is  destined 
to  a  multitude  of  disapi)ointments  while  he  li\es.  Ihu  from  the  pleasant 
.security  nf  seventv  years  must  not  these  appear  trivial,  nnist  not  the  whole 
voyage   of   his   life  seem   to   have   been   taken    under   rose-colored    skies?      In 

:i43 


retrospect,  life  must  appear  a  most  joyful  thing  indeed.  Surely  Emerson  must 
have  erred  greatly  to  sup^wse  that  "Life  only  avails,  not  the  having  lived." 
Much  more  pleasing  is  the  philosophy  of  Stevenson  on  the  same  matter.  He 
says :  "To  lead  an  adventurous  and  honorahle  youth,  and  to  settle  when  the 
time  arrives,  into  a  green  and  smiling  age,  is  to  he  a  good  artist  in  life,  and 
to  deserve  well  of  yourself  and  your  neighhor." 

This,  to  me,  must  always  be  the  goal  of  human  endeavor.  How  George 
Martin  Kober  views  it,  one  cannot  say.  He  has  given  much  to  the  world  in 
seventy  years;  more,  indeed,  than  the  world  can  or  is  likely  to  repay  in  seven 
times  seventy  years.  He  has  lived  in  a  way  that  can  bring  him  few  regrets, 
and  has  well  earned  repose  in  this  life  and  in  the  next. 

"In  tJic  dozvnJiill  of  life,  ivluii  I  find  I'm  declining, 
May  my  fate  no  less  fortnnaie  be!" 


GEORGETOWN   UNIVERSITY, 
School  of  Medicine. 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  28th,  1920. 

Dr.    George   M.    Kober, 
Worthy  Dean : 
The  Students  of  the  Sophomore  Class  present,  most  respectfully,  their  heart- 
iest greetings  upon  this,  the  occasion  of  the  Seventieth  Anniversary  of  your 
birth. 

That  the  unfathomable  future  may  bless  you  with  a  liberal  share  of  lifes' 
rarest  treasures;  that  our  Alma  Mater  may  have  the  good  fortune  of  a  mani- 
fold rq^etition  of  the  years  of  thy  faithful  stewardship,  is  the  ardent  with  of  a 
grateful  class. 

James  J.  O'Rourke, 
Walter  E.  McCawley, 
Vincent  R.  Reilly, 
Frank  J.  Russell. 

Committee. 


244 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

ilfbtral  SnrlPtg  of  11)?  itatrtrt  of  OInlumbm 

Excerpt   from   the   minutes   of   the   Executive  Committee   of   the 
Medical  Society  for  a  meeting  held  Nov.  3,  1919 : 

"Dr.  \Mlliam  Gerry  Morgan  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  Dr.  George  M. 
Kober's  70th  birthday  will  occur  March  28,  1920,  and  suggested  that  the 
Society  should  take  cognizance  thereof.  Ordered :  that  it  be  recommended 
to  the  Society  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  arrange  for  a  dinner  to  be  held 
on  the  occasion  of  Dr.  Kober's  70th  birthday  as  an  evidence  of  the  Society's 
esteem." 

The  foregoing  recommendation  was  adopted  by  the  Society  at  its  meeting 
held  November  5,  1919. 

H.  C.  Macatee,    Recording  Secretary. 

1317  Connecticut  Avenue, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Dr.   George   M.   Kober,  November  17,  1919. 

1819  O  Street,  N.W., 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Dear  Dr.  Kober: 

It  having  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Medical  Society,  through  the  report 
•  'f  the  E.xecutive  Committee,  that  you  are  about  to  attain  the  seventieth  anni- 
versary of  your  birth  on  March  28,  1920.  a  resolution  was  offered  and  unani- 
mously passed,  that  a  dinner  be  given  in  your  honor  in  celebration  of  this 
anniversary. 

It  is  indeed  rare  that  one  reaches  the  three  score  and  ten  mark  in  life;  rare 
for  one  to  possess  such  unusual  distinction  in  the  science  of  medicine,  sociok)gy 
and  civ-ic  virtues.  The  Medical  Society  in  honoring  you  wishes  to  honor 
itself,  and  we  trust  that  you  will  accept  our  invitation. 

The  committee  finds  that  March  2H,  1920.  falls  on  Sunday,  and  \vc  therefore 

re(|uest  that  you  designate  the  date  nearest   that  day  that  you  desire  us  to 

celebrate.  c-  1 

Smcerely, 

The  Committee : 

Dr.   C.  \V.   Riciiard.so.v,  Cliairman. 

Dr.  S.   S.   Adams.- 

Dr.  W.  M.  Barton. 

245 


A  N  N  I  V  E  R  S  i\  R  Y     TRIBUTE. 

1819  Q  Street, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

To:     Dr.  Charles  \V.  Richardson  November  22,  1919. 

Dr.  Samuel  S.  Adams 
Dr.  \V.  M.  Barton,  Committee. 

My  dear  fricmis: 

1  liave  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  17th  inst. 
informing  me  that  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  adopted  by  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  a  dinner  will  be  given  in  my  honor  in 
celebration  of  the  seventieth  anniversary  of  my  birth. 

In  response  to  your  communication,  I  beg  that  you  will  convey  to  the  Society 
I  he  assurance  of  my  heart-felt  appreciation  of  the  distinguished  honor  con- 
ferred upon  me,  and  of  the  gratification  it  gives  me  to  know  that  my  conduct 
has  received  the  approval  of  my  professional  friends  and  colleagues. 

Since  your  Committee  finds  that  March  28,  1920,  falls  on  Sunday,  I  would 
suggest  that  either  Saturday,  March  27,  or  Monday,  March  29,  may  be  desig- 
nated for  the  date  of  the  dinner. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

George  M.  Kober. 

Complimentary  Dinner  to  Dr.  George  M.  Kober  in  Commemoration  of 

His  Seventieth  Birthday. 
A  Complimentary  Dinner  will  be  given  to  Doctor  George  M.  Kober  on 
his  seventieth  birthday  by  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
;ind  other  Scientific  and  Civic  organizations,  at  Rauscher's,  on  March  27th, 
1920,  at  7.30  P.  M.  Dr.  Kober  is  well-known,  respected  and  admired  for  his 
untiring  interest  .in  all  organizations  for  the  promotion  of  benevolent  projects, 
and  the  betterment  of  social  conditions  in  this  community,  and  undoubtedly 
a  large  number  will  wish  to  honor  him  on  this  occasion.  The  cost  per  plate 
will  be  five  dollars  ($5.00).  and  the  Committee  respectfully  requests  that  you 
send  your  subscriptions  as  early  as  possible  to  its  Chairman  that  plans  may 
be  fully  completed. 

Charles  W.   Richardson,   M.D.,  Chairman, 
1317  Connecticut  Ave.,  Wa.shington,  D.  C. 
Samuel  S.  Adams, 
W.   M.  Barton, 

For  the  Medical  Society. 
L.   O.   Howard, 

For  the  Allied  Scientific  Societies. 

■ 

246 


»|  t<ij*i  •mr 


^^-«.-^^>, 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS 
ON  TVBERCVLOSIS 
WASHINGTON     1908 
AWARDS  T4IS  ntDAL   TO 
THE  TVBERCVLOSIS    HOSPITAL 
OF  WASHINGTON 
DESIGNED    BY 
G.M.KOBER  ^ 


ANNIVERSARY     'I"  R  I  \)  I'  T  \\ . 


Sinnpr 

to 

(gwrg?  iMarttit  IKnbpr,  ii-  i.,  21 IC.  i. 

3ln  Qlpkbrattatt  of  Bta 

rnth  ItrtljfiaH 

Sl|p  Hf btral  ^omtg  nf  tli?  itatrirl  nf  (Cnlumbta 

anil  AUtrb  ^rtrnttftr  ^crtrttrH  anJi 

(Etuir  (igatti^atiatta 

at  iSauBrl^pr'H 

i^aturbau.  iHJarrli  2r,  1920.  at  r.30  p.  m.. 

liaaliittgtou,  S.  CE. 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE 


AbbrrfiBffl  of  (Eongratulatton 

L)K.   FKANCIS   K.   HACNKR 
President   .Medical   Society,   D.   C. 


1)K.  JOHN  A.  FOOTE 

Toastmaster 

I)u.  W1I>L1AM  ('.  WOODWARD 
Kei)reseiitlii,ir  the  Medical   .Society,  D.   C. 

Mk.    WILLIAM   H.   HOLMES 
Representing  the  Anthropological  Society 

Mk.   henry   B.   F.   MACFARLAND 
Representing  the  Civic  Organizations 

Mu.  ROBERT  S.  WOODWARD 
Representing  the  Washington  Academy  of  Sciences 

Dr.  HARVEY  W.  WILEY 

Rei)resenting  the  (.'osmos  Club 

Dk.   CHARLES   W.   RICHARDSON 

I'resentatiou 

Db.  GEORGE  M.  KOBER 
Response 


248 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE 


It  the  dinner  giirn  by  the  Mcdieal  Society  of  the  District  of  Coluiiibiti 
and  .■lllied  Scioititic  Societies  a)id  Cii'ic  Organi-zations. 


Acker.  Dr.  (ieorge  N. 

Adams.  Dr.  Roy  D. 

Adams,  Dr.   Samuel  S. 

Adams.  Mrs.  Aimette  A. 

Ailes.  Milton  E. 

Arnold.  Dr.  J.  S. 

Arthur.  Col.  Wm.  H.,  Med.  Corps. 

Atkinson,  Dr.  Wade  H. 

r>aid\vin,  William  H. 

Ilailoeh,  Dr.  E.  A. 

r.arker,  Dr.  L.  F. 

Barton.  Dr.  Wilfred  M. 

Dauer.   Dr.   Louis  A. 

Hell  rend.  Dr.  Edwin  B. 

Hell.  Alexander  Graham 

H.ell.  Charles  J. 

Her  liner.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Emile 

Hernton.  Dr.  Harry  S. 

H.orden.   Dr.   W.   C. 

Hoswell,   Dr.  A.  W. 

I'.owen,  Dr.  W.  Sinclair 

Hranson,  Bruce  S. 

Hrett.  Col.  Lloyd  M, 

H.rickenstein,   J.   H. 

H.rownlow,  Commissioner  Louis 

H.ryan.   Dr.  J.  H. 

Hryan,  W.  B. 

Hi-yant,  Mr  and  Mrs.  Arthur  L. 

Hutler,  Dr.  W.  K. 

Call.  Arthur  D. 

Casteel.    Dr.    F.   A. 

Clark.  Allen  C. 

Clark.    Api)leton,    P.,  Jr. 

Coale.   Dr.   Edith  S. 

Cole.   Dr.   .John  T. 

CoiLstas.  Dr.  John 

Cook.  Dr.  (I.  Wythe 

Cnpelii'id,   Dr.   Edfjar  P. 

Coville,    F.    V. 

Creeden.  Rev.  John  B.,  S.J. 

Crossoii.  Dr.  Henry  J. 

Davidson,  Dr.  E.  Y. 

Dclacey,  Judge  William  H. 


Digges.  Dr.  J.  H. 
Duehring.  Dr.  Frank  E. 
Duffey,   Dr.   H.  Clarence 
Dugan.  Dr.  C.  L. 
Easton.    Dr.    Charles   D. 
ImIsou.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  .John  Joy 
Einhorn.  Dr.  Max 
Eliot,  Dr.  Johnson 
Eliot.  Dr.  Llewellyn 
I-niis,  Dr.  (Jeorge  R. 
Eynon.   W.    J. 
Fadeley.  C.  E. 
Farrand.  Dr.  Livingston 
Fenning,  Frederick  A. 
^Fletcher.   Alice  E. 
Foley.  Dr.  Thomas  .M. 
Folkmar,  Dr.  Elnora  C. 
Foote,  Dr.  .John  A. 
Foster,  Dr.   liomulus  A. 
Fowler.  Dr.  H.  A. 
Fowler,  Dr.  W.  C. 
I'ox,  Albert  F. 
P'oye,  Dr.  A.  Francis 
B'rench,  Dr.  William  G. 
Friedenwald.  Dr.  Julius 
(Jannon.  Dr.  James  A. 
Gans,  Isaac 

(larrison.  Dr.   Fielding  IL.   V.   S.  A. 
Gasch,   Herman   E. 
Glose,  Rev.  Joseph,  S.J. 
Goodman.  Dr.  William   1{. 
Gordon,  General  David  Stuart,  T'.  S.  .\. 
Gore,  James  H. 
Griffith,  Dr.  Charles  I. 
Grosvenor,  Gilbert  H. 
Gude,  William  F. 
Gwynn.  Dr.  William  C. 
Hagner,  Dr.  Francis  R. 
Hall,  Dr.  A.  J. 
Hamilton,  (teorge  E. 
Hamilton,  Dr.  Ralph  A. 
Hammett,  Dr.  Charles  M. 
IL'itlield,  Dr.  Charles  J. 


249 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 


Hazeu,  Dr.  Henry  H. 

Homier,  Dr.  Wm.  F. 

Herbst,  Mrs.  and  Mrs.  William  P. 

Herbst,   ]Miss 

Herrmann,  Mr.  and   Mrs.  J.  Phillip 

Heurit'h,  Chris. 

Hickling.  Dr.  D.  P. 

Hilkemeier,  Charles 

Hird,  Dr.  John  D. 

Holden,    Dr.    R.    C. 

Holm.  Dr.  H.  C. 

Holmes,  Professor  W.  H. 

Hough,  Dr.  Walter 

Hough,   Dr.   William   H. 

Howard,  Dr.  L.  O. 

Hurtt,  Dr.   Harry 

Ireland,  Surg.-Gen.  Merritt  W.,  U,  S.  A. 

Jackson,  Dr.  V.  B. 

Johnson,  Dr.  Joseph  Taber 

Johnson,  Dr.  Loren  B.  T. 

Johnson,  Dr.  Louis  A. 

Johnson,  Dr.  Paul  B. 

Jones-Taylor,  Dr.  Louise 

Judd,   Neil   M. 

Kelley,  Dr.  J.  T. 

Knopf,   Dr.    S.   A. 

Kober,  Miss  Gretohen 

Koons.  John  A. 

Krechting  Dr.  Wilhelm  E.  H. 

Lamb,   Dr.   D.   S. 

liamb.  Dr.   Isabel 

LaFlesehe,  Francis 

Langworthy.  Dr.  Charles  F. 

Leclere,  Mrs.  Lizzie 

LeComte,  Dr.  Ralph  M. 

Lee,  Dr.  Thomas  S. 

Leech,  Dr.  D.  Olin 

Leech,  Dr.  Frank 

Lind.  Dr.  John  E, 

Link.   Mrs.  Henry 

L(»\ve.  Dr.  Thomas  F. 

McCarthy,  Dr.  Joseph  J. 

^[cCaw,  (Jeneral  Wra.  D..  U.  S.  A.  M.  C. 

McLaughlin,  Dr.  T.  N. 

:Macatee,  Dr.  H.  C. 

Machcn.  Dr.  Francis  S. 

Macfarland.  Hon.  Henry  B.  F. 

Mack.  Edward  F. 

Mackall,  Dr.  Louis 


Manning.  Dr.  W.  J. 

Marbury,  Dr.  Charles  C. 

Meltzer,  Dr.  S.  J. 

Merritt,  H.  B. 

Michelson.  Dr.  Truman 

Miekler,  Joseph  R.,  Jr. 

INIitchell,  Dr.  Claude  N. 

Moran,  Dr.  John  F. 

Morgan,  Dr.  Edward  L. 

Morgan,  Dr.  William  Gerry 

Moore,  Charles 

Morrison,  Dr.  Edward  L. 

Moser,  Dr.  James  M. 

Moulden,  Dr.  W.  R. 

Murphy,  Jerome 

Muncaster,  Dr.  S.  B. 

Munson,  Col.  Edward  L.  U.  S.  A.  M.  C. 

Neill,  Dr.   Charles  P. 

Newsholme,   Sir  Arthur 

Neumann,  Felix 

Neuman,  Dr.  Lester 

Nevills,  Rev.  Coleman,  S.J. 

Nicholay,  Miss  Helen 

Nichols,  Dr.  H.  J. 

Nichols,  Dr.   J.  B. 

Nichols,  Col.  A.  J.,  U.  S.  A.  M.  C. 

Noble,  Gen.  Robt.  E.,  U.  S.  A.  M.  C. 

Ong,  Dr.  Harry  A. 

O'Donoghue,  Dr.  John  A. 

O'Donnell,  Dr.  William  F. 

O'Malley,  Dr.  Mary 

Owen,  Col.  W.  O.,  U.  S.  A.  M.  C. 

Owens,  Dr.  S.  Logan 

Parker,  Dr.  Henry  P. 

I'attisou,  Terrell 

Peterson.  Dr.  George 

Pezold,  Mathilda 

Pfender,  Dr.  Charles  A. 

Pratt,  W.  S. 

Raker,  Hon.  and  Mrs.  John  E. 

Ray.   A.   M. 

Reeside,  Frank  P. 

Reeves,  Di-.  W.  P. 

Reichelderfer,  Dr.  L.  H. 

Rench,  Dr.   V.  B. 

Rudolph.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cuno  H. 

Richardson.  Dr.  Charles  W. 

Safford,  Lieut.  W.  E.,  U.  S.  N. 

Sage,  C.  R. 


250 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE 


Schreiber,    Dr.   Heury  R. 
Seibert,  Dr.  E.  K. 
Sexton,  Dr.   R.   L. 
Shaiulelle,  Rev.  Henry  J.,   S.J. 
Shugrue,  Dr.  J.  J. 
Shute,  Dr.  D.  K. 
Silve.ster.  Dr.  Richard  L. 
Skinner,  Dr.   J.   O. 
Sowers.  Dr.  William  F. 
Si)igel.  Dr.  Harry 
Spofford.  Florence  P. 
Stafford,  Justice  W.  P. 
Stanton.  Dr.  W,  J. 
Sternberg,  Mrs.  George  M. 
Stone,    Dr.    I.    S. 
Streeter.  Dr.  Edward  C. 
Stuart.  Dr.  Daniel  D.  V. 
Sullivan,  Dr.  Robert  Y. 
Sutton,  Dr.  Richard  N, 
Taylor.  Dr.  Bruce  L. 
Taylor,  Dr.  L.  H. 
Tewksbury,   Dr.  W.   D. 
Thomas,  Dr.  Ada  R. 
Thomas.  Dr.  John  D. 
Thompson,  Dr.  J.  Lawn 
Tindall,  Dr.  William 
Tondorf,  Rev.  Francis  A.,  S.J. 


Townsend,  Dr.  J.  G.,  U.  S.  P.  H. 

Turpin.   Perry  B. 

Ufford.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walter  S. 

\  auiihan.   Dr.  (ieorge  Tully 

Van   Schaick,  Dr.  John,  Jr. 

\eil)rycke,  Dr.  .J.  Russell 

Walker,  Dr.  Reginald  B. 

Wak-ott.  Dr.  Charles  D. 

Wall.   Dr.   Joseph   S. 

Walsh.  Rev.   Edmund,   S.J. 

Welch.  Dr.  William  H. 

Wells.   Dr.  Walter  A. 

West.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  R.  Thomas 

White.  Dr.  Charles  S. 

White,  Dr.  William  A. 

^Vhitmore.  (\)1.  Eugene.  U.  S.  A.  M.  C. 

Wiley,   Dr.   Harvey  W. 

Wilmer.  Dr.  William  H. 

Wilson.  George  S. 

Willson,   Dr.    Prentiss 

Wolf,  Hon.  and  Mrs  Simon 

WoUenberg.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  U.  A. 

Woodward.   Dr.   Robert  S. 

Woodward.  Dr.  William  C. 

AVynkoop,   Dr.   J.   C. 

Yarrow,   Dr.   H.  C. 

Zehuer,  Harry 


251 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

Rev.  John  B.  Creeden,  S.J. 
President  of  Gcorgclo7ini  Lhik'crsiiy. 

Bless  us.  O  Lord,  and  these  lliy  gifts  which  of  Thy  hounty  we  are  to  par- 
take. May  the  useful  life  of  him  in  whose  honor  we  are  gathered  be  prolonged 
through  other  decades  in  health  and  happiness.  ^lay  his  example  inspire  in 
all  of  us  an  effective  desire  to  imitate  him  in  his  de\'otedness  to  science  and 
to  philanthropy. 

3ntro5urtorg  S>pn(\} 

Francis  R.  Hagner,  M.D. 

Pi'csidoit  Medical  Society,  District  of  Coluiiibia. 

As  president  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  it  becomes 
mv  pleasant  duty  after  the  gastronomic  treat  we  have  just  had,  to  open  that 
part  of  our  gathering  which  will  consist  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  feast  of  a 
.different  sort. 

It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  us  to  have  present  tonight  representatives  of  the 
other  scientific  and  civic  societies  to  which  our  honored  guest  belongs. 

As  everyone  present  is  aware  we  have  met  here  tonight  to  do  honor  to 
our  colleague,  Dr.  George  M.  Kober,  wdio  has  reached  his  seventieth  milestone 
today,  and  I  only  hope  if  I  survive  the  vicissitudes  of  life  until  I  shall  reach 
his  age,  I  may  wear  the  years  as  gracefully  as  he,  and  count  upon  the  affec- 
tionate regard  of  so  great  a  number  of  my  confreres. 

The  committee  of  arrangements  has  provided  a  regular  program  for  your 
entertainment  and  therefore  my  part  will  be  ended  when  I  introduce  to  you 
the  genial  toastmaster  of  the  evening,  Dr.  John  Foote;  I  take  great  pleasure 
in  intrfxlucing  I^r.  Foote. 

©p? ntng  AiiJirp00  of  tl|p  (Fcaatmafitpr 

Dr.  John  A.  Foote. 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentleinoi: 

Shortly  after  the  American  forces  went  to  France  we  began  to  hear  tales 
of  stupendous  task  performed  with  incredible  celerity  by  the  American 
Engineers,  so  that  after  awhile  it  was  said  that  the  motto  of  this  corps  became : 
"It  can't  be  done  but  there  it  is." 

252 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

We  have  assembled  here  tonight  to  celebrate  the  seventieth  anniversarv  of 
the  birth  of  a  man  who  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  a  useful  and  busy  life 
in  our  midst,  and  to  testify  by  our  presence  here  the  pride  which  we  feel  in 
his  career  as  a  medical  scientist,  our  admiration  for  his  civic  virtues  and  the 
love  which  we  havq  for  him  as  a  man.  I  have  not  said  that  we  have  come 
here  to  honor  Dr.  Kober,  for  there  is  no  individual,  no  matter  how  distin- 
guished he  may  be  in  any  field  of  knowledge,  who  can  add  anything  to  that 
honor  which  George  ]\I.  Kober  has  earned  for  himself. 

We  have  come  here  gladly  to  a  rich  and  pleasant  task  and  we  have  no  desire 
to  leave  this  duty  to  posterity.  We  feel  indeed  like  the  man  who  said : 
"What  do  I  owe  to  posteriy?  \Miat  has  posterity  ever  done  for  me?"  Dr. 
Kober  has  done  far  more  for  posterity  than  posterity  ever  will  be  able  to  do 
for  him,  no  matter  how  it  may  praise  him.  And,  while  it  is  true,  to  para- 
phrase the  words  of  a  favorite  poet,  that : 

''Great  men  grozv  greater  by  the  lapse  of  time, 
JVe  knozi.'  those  least  zchoifi  zve  have  seen  the  latest; 
And  they  'niongst  all  zchosc  )iaines  haz'e  grozini  snblinie, 
Who  icorked  for  human  Jiappiness  z\.'as  greatest." 

Yet  we  can  conceive  nothing  more  appropriate  than  the  ceremony  in  which 
we  have  so  joyfully  engaged  this  evening. 

Let  no  one  think  that  this  is  a  meeting  in  which  we  will  say  "Hail!"  and 
then  "Farewell !"  \\'e  have  revised  our  estimate  of  "old"  men  in  the  lessons 
taught  us  by  the  great  \\'orld  War,  and  we  know  that  to  men  like  Dr.  Kober 
the  spirit  of  "76  means  the  years  76  and  not  the  year  '76.  We  know  that 
he  has  the  spirit  of  that  great  European  statesman  who  said  on  his  eighty-first 
birthday  that  while  he  had  always  understood  that  the  first  eighty  years  of 
a  man's  life  were  the  most  pleasant,  he  had  now  come  to  realize  that  a  great 
many  good  things  had  been  reserved  for  the  second  eighty  vears. 

There  are  many  here  tonight  who  have  l)een  the  associates  of  George  M. 
Kober  in  his  notable  life  work,  some  who  are  his  peers  in  other  branches 
of  science.  One  of  these  left  us  alx)ut  two  years  ago  to  accept  the  highest 
post  in  the  health  councils  of  a  great  northern  city.  We  had  long  known  him 
when  he  was  with  us  for  his  crisp  rhetoric,  his  certain  logic  and  his  swift 
gift  of  oratory,  and  after  a  year's  l)urnishing  attrition  with  the  keenest  nn'nds 
of  that  city  whose  own  sons  have  on  occasion  admitted  that  she  is  the  center 
of  western  culture,  we  may  expect  of  him  even  greater  accompli.shment  tiiis 

253 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

evening.      It  has  been  well  said.  "Von  can  tell  a  man  from  Ijoston,  but  you 
cannot  tell  him  very  much." 

I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  an  old  friend  in  the  person  of  Dr.  William 
C.  W'oodward,  Health  Commissioner  of  the  City  of  Boston. 

ir.  iimtam  (U.  fflnabuiarb 

Health  Coinniissioncr  of  Boston,  Mass. 
Representing  the  Medical  Society,  District  of  Columbia. 

Mr.  President,  Our  Honored  Guest,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

My  introduction  by  our  genial  toastmaster  has  been  most  embarrassing 
!o  me,  but  it  has  relieved  me  of  a  large  part  of  the  sense  of  responsibility 
that  previously  I  had  felt.  The  rules  of  the  evening  provide,  the  toastmaster 
tells  us,  that  for  any  failure  in  the  program  of  the  evening,  he,  and  he  alone, 
is  resposible.  For  my  shortcomings,  therefore,  you  will  please  blame  the 
toastmaster.  In  so  far  as  shortcomings  may  be  absent,  I  must  beg  of  you  to 
attribute  that  fact  to  the  inspiration  that  must  come  to  even  the  dullest  head 
and  the  coldest  heart,  if  human  at  all,  on  an  occasion  such  as  this. 

Sitting  here  among  my  many  friends  and  associates,  1  can  hardly  realize 
why  1  should  have  been  introduced  as  a  gentleman  from  Boston.  It  is  so 
natural  and  homelike  to  be  here  with  you.  But  then  it  comes  over  me  that  I 
am  no  longer  physically  and  bodily  one  of  you,  however  much  I  may  still 
be  so  in  spirit,  and  I  feel  more  deeply  indebted  even  than  before  for  the  honor 
you  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia  conferred  upon  me 
when  you  asked  me  to  be  your  spokesman  on  this  occasion.  I  am  sure  the 
honor  comes  through  no  merit  of  my  own,  unless  it  be  a  merit  to  esteem  and 
love  the  society  with  which  I  have  been  so  long  identified,  and  to  esteem  and 
love  our  guest,  Dr.  Kober. 

Dr.  George  Martin  Kober  was  born  at  y\lsfcld.  (icrmany,  in  1850,  on  March 
28.  In  1867,  soon  after  the  close  of  our  Civil  War  and  when  he  was  a  mere 
lad  of  seventeen,  Kober  came  to  the  United  States,  and  shortly  thereafter 
entered  the  army  and  was  assigned  to  the  hospital  corps.  It  was  thus  that 
he  was  put  into  the  way  of  achieving  a  boyhood  ambition  to  become  a  doctor 
of  medicine.  His  first  post  of  duty  was  at  Carlisle  Barracks,  Pennsylvania, 
and  there  he  kept  the  records  of  the  hospital,  acted  as  pharmacist,  assisted  in 
minor  dressings,  and  discharged  many  of  the  duties  of  a  clinical  clerk.  His 
youth  and  then  .slight  .stature.  Dr.  Kober  says,  exempted  him  from  most  of  the 

254 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

usual  duties  of  an  orderly,  but  I  surmise  that  his  mental  and  moral  strength, 
rather  than  any  physical  weakness,  procured  for  him  the  superior  opportunities 
that  came  with  the  duties  assigned  to  him,  to  advance  his  knowledge  of 
medicine.  At  any  rate,  the  unusual  qualities  of  the  quiet,  sincere,  studious 
German  lad  attracted  the  attention  of  the  medical  officer  at  the  post.  Dr.  |.  J.  B. 
Wright,  and  of  Mrs.  Wright,  who  thereafter  lost  no  opportunity  to  help  him 
toward  his  goal. 

Kober  remained  at  Carlisle  Barracks  until  January  loth,  1870,  when  he 
received  the  appointment  of  Hospital  Steward  and  was  then  sent  to  Frankford 
Arsenal.  Either  a  knowledge  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  lad  was  held  at 
Carlisle  Barracks  had  preceded  him  to  Frankford  Arsenal,  or  else  the  medical 
officer  at  the  Arsenal,  Dr.  Robert  Bruce  Burns,  was  as  discerning  as  Dr. 
W'right,  at  Carlisle  Barracks,  had  been ;  for  every  facility  was  extended  to 
Kober  here  as  at  his  former  station  to  enlarge  his  knowledge  of  medicine. 
Frankford  Arsenal  was  near  enough  Philadelphia  to  enable  him  to  attend  some 
of  the  lectures  at  the  medical  school  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  then 
as  now  one  of  the  leading  medical  schools  in  the  United  States,  and  by  copying 
the  notes  taken  by  a  student  at  the  Arsenal  who  was  able  to  attend  regularly, 
a  son  of  Dr.  Burns,  Kober  was  enabled  to  make  substantial  progress.  Dr. 
Kober  today,  with  modesty  that  is  quite  characteristic,  is  profuse  in  his  acknowl- 
edgment of  his  obligation  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wright,  and  to  Dr.  Burns,  and 
refers  to  his  good  fortune  in  coming  under  their  guidance,  but  it  is  hardly 
likely  that  the  good  fortune  came  undeserved.     It  seldom  does. 

The  next  step  in  Kober's  advancement  toward  a  medical  career,  came  as  an 
assignment  to  duty  in  the  Surgeon  General's  office  in  Washington,  in  1871. 
So  far  as  the  record  shows  this  transfer  was  merely  one  of  the  ordinary  changes 
of  post  that  any  man  in  the  army  must  expect  to  befall  him  from  time  to 
time.  Beneath  the  surface,  however,  we  must  recognize  the  hand  of  Providence 
'.hrough  the  discernment,  wisdom,  and  great-heartedness  of  Dr.  Wright,  Dr. 
Bums,  and  the  other  friends  in  the  army  who  had  by  that  time  taken  a  fancv 
to  tlie  very  likable  and  friendly  young  Kober,  now  at  the  threshold  of  man- 
hood, and  somewhat  matured  by  four  years  of  army  life.  The  medical  schools 
of  Washington  at  that  time  gave  their  instruction  in  the  evening,  so  that  an 
ambitious  young  man  might  work  during  the  daylight  hours  in  a  g(^vernment 
department  or  elsewhere  to  earn  his  livelihood,  and  devote  his  evening  hours, 
liis  holidays,  and  possibly  his  Sundays,  to  study  and  to  clinical  instruction. 
It  was  hard  w<>rk.  as  those  of  us  who  jiave  been  throuoli  it  can  tcstifv;  hut 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

Kober  was  not  afraid  of  hard  work,  and  so  he  ijroniptly  matriculated  at  the 
medical  school  of  Georgetown  University,  where  he  came  under  the  preceptor- 
ship  of  Dr.  Johnson  Eliot,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  and  sur- 
geons in  Washington  at  that  time.  He  was  graduated  as  a  doctor  of  medicine 
in  the  spring  of  1873.  Time  will  not  permit  any  extended  account  of  Kober's 
career  in  the  medical  school.  One  event  of  outstanding  importance  must  be 
mentioned,  however,  for  it  marked  an  epoch  in  Kober's  career,  and  has  much 
to  do  with  our  present  relations  with  him.  For  it  was  while  Kober  was 
.-till  an  undergraduate  that  his  preceptor.  Dr.  Eliot,  invited  him  to  attend  a 
meeting  of  the  Medical  vSociety.  Kober  gladly  accepted  the  invitation,  and 
from  that  time  until  he  left  Washington  in  July,  1874,  he  was  present  at  every 
meeting.  Promptly  after  graduation,  Kober  sought  membership  in  the  Medi- 
cal Society,  but  before  his  application  was  acted  upon  he  had  been  appointed 
an  acting  assistant  surgeon  in  the  United  States  Army  and  had  reported  for 
duty  as  post  surgeon  at  Alcatraz  Island,  California.  The  fact  that  he  was 
iwentv-five  hundred  miles  away  for  an  indefinite  period  did  not  lessen  his 
interest,  however,  and  upon  election,  October  6,  1874,  he  accepted  member- 
ship, and  that  membership  he  maintained  continuously  during  his  army  life 
in  the  far  West,  upwards  of  twenty  years,  and  has  maintained  ever  since. 

Dr.  Kober  returned  to  Washington  in  1889.  The  esteem  in  which  he  was 
then  held  by  the  medical  profession,  notwithstanding  his  prolonged  absence, 
was  well  shown  by  his  election  in  the  very  year  of  his  return,  as  president  of 
the  Medical  and  Surgical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  In  1898,  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  Medical  Association  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
In  1903,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  the  highest  honor  within  the  gift  of  the  local  medical  profession. 
In  191 5  he  was  president  of  the  National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Pre- 
vention of  Tuberculosis,  now  the  National  Tuberculosis  Association.  He  has 
been  dean  of  the  Medical  Department  of  Georgetown  University  since  1901. 

I  might  go  on  for  the  entire  evening  telling  you  of  Dr.  Kober's  work,  but  to 
most  of  you  his  life  of  service  is  already  an  open  book,  and  all  of  you,  I 
know,  are  eager  to  hear  the  speakers  who  are  to  follow.  And  so  with  these 
remarks,  a  few  words  in  appreciation  of  Dr.  Kober's  services,  and  a  few 
words  of  congratulation  to  him  on  the  attainment  of  this  his  seventieth  birth- 
day, I  might  complete  the  very  pleasant  duty  with  which  I  have  been  honored 
bv  the  Medical  Society — if  Dr.  Kober  were  just  an  average  man. 

For  the  life  and  work  of  most  of  us,  of  the  average  man,  can  well  be 
summed  up  in  such  a  fashion  as  that  wdiich  I  have  thus  far  followed.     A  few 

256 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

dates,  a  few  incidents  of  little  or  no  lasting  importance  in  the  life  of  our 
profession  or  of  the  community,  a  few  scjuare  feet  of  earth,  a  mass  of  granite — 
and  the  life  story  of  the  average  man  has  been  told.  But  were  I  to  attempt 
so  to  recount  the  work  of  Dr.  Kober,  in  order  that  we  might  do  honor  to 
ins  life  of  service,  I  should  certainly  fall  far  short  of  my  obligation  as  the 
message-bearer  of  the  Society  on  this  occasion.  Dr.  Kober  is  not  an  average 
man,  or  else  we  would  not  be  here  this  evening;  for  to  his  chosen  profession, 
to  the  Medical  Society,  and  the  community  he  so  diligently  serves  Dr.  Kober 
has  come  to  be  something  more  than  a  mere  flesh  and  blood  man,  something- 
more  than  a  mere  series  of  dates  and  incidents.  He  must  be  studied  and 
appraised  rather  as  an  influence — a  moral  or  spiritual  influence,  if  you  will — 
lending  constantly,  toward  the  enlarging  and  uplifting  of  the  lives  of  those 
with  whom  he  comes  into  contact :  an  influence  that  will  continue  to  stimulate 
and  direct  the  activities  of  the  Medical  Society  long  after  Dr.  Kober  has 
been  called  from  the  field  of  his  earthly  labors — which,  pray  God,  may  be  an 
event  long  delayed. 

If  you  were  to  ask  me  to  name  the  secret  of  Dr.  Kober's  influence,  I  would 
answer  first,  loyalty,  loyalty  to  an  ideal.  To  the  Medical  Society — and  it  is 
for  the  Medical  Society  that  I  speak — he  has  been  loyal  first,  loyal  last,  loyal 
at  all  times  and  above  all  things.  Picture,  if  you  please,  the  young  Kober, 
iust  turned  twenty-one  years,  with  all  the  temptations  to  idleness  and  pleasure 
incident  to  that  age,  with  the  burden  of  daily  toil  for  his  livelihood  and  evening 
and  nightly  toil  for  an  education,  and  yet  after  his  first  introduction  into  tiie 
Medical  Society,  as  a  guest,  never  missing  a  meeting  so  long  as  he  remained  in 
Washington.  Eollow  him  through  nearly  twenty  years  of  absence,  maintain- 
ing membership  in  the  Society,  without  any  incentive  whatsoever  beyond  his 
bare  loyalty  to  it.  Then  recall  him,  returning,  his  place  in  the  medical  pro- 
fession assured  and  with  no  intention  of  practicing  medicine,  and  yet  imme- 
diately resuming  his  position  in  the  councils  of  the  Society.  How  many  of  us 
would  have  done  likewise?  None,  I  venture  to  assert,  and  not  more  than  a 
!-()rry  few.  I  am  sure.  The  record  is.  I  believe,  unique  in  the  history  of  the 
Society.  And  after  his  return,  trace  his  course  througli  the  years  that  fol- 
lowed— always  in  his  place  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Society,  and  excelled 
by  no  one  in  interest  and  zeal  in  its  scientific  program  and  professional  and 
public  activities,  even  right  up  to  the  present  moment  as  he  rounds  out  his 
seventieth  year.  Do  you  wonder  at  the  esteem  and  affection  of  the  Medical 
Society  for  Dr.  Kober? 

257 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

But  loyalty  is  not  a  thing  that  springs  up  without  cause,  when  and  where 
it  will,  and  it  may  be  well  to  inquire  into  the  cause  for  Dr.  Kober's  loyalty 
to  the  Medical  Society.  We  have  already  seen  that  his  devotion  could  not 
have  been  due  to  any  personal  benefit  that  he  might  hope  to  derive,  and  we 
may  well  ask  ourselves  whether  it  may  not  have  been  due  to  some  distinguish- 
ing merit  in  the  Society  itself  or  to  the  attributes  of  its  members.  Although 
uur  pride  may  suffer  by  the  admission,  we  must  admit,  it  seems  to  me,  that 
such  was  not  the  case ;  it  was  Kober,  not  the  Medical  Society  and  not  ourselves 
personally,  that  developed  that  spirit  of  loyalty  that  has  marked  his  career. 
If  you  doubt  it,  search  the  long  list  of  physicans  admitted  to  membership 
since  Kober  became  a  member.  How  many  of  them  have  been  bound  to  the 
Society  or  to  ourselves  by  any  such  ties  of  devotion  as  has  Kober,  and  yet 
all  have  had  at  least  an  equal  opportunity,  and  many  have  had  better.  Merit 
there  is  in  the  Society  and  in  its  members,  unmistakable  merit,  merit  of  a  high 
order;  else  the  Society  would  have  long  since  perished.  But  it  takes  the 
exceptional  man  to  find  that  merit,  to  analyze  and  appraise  it,  to  avail  of  it, 
and  build  it  up  and  strengthen  it  so  that  others  may  share  in  it  the  better; 
and  Kober  was  one  of  those  exceptional  men.  Early  in  life  he  came  under 
the  influence  of  an  ideal — duty,  duty,  duty — and  he  has  lived  steadfastly  up 
to  it ;  duty  to  his  patients,  duty  to  his  fellow  physicians,  duty  to  the  organized 
medical  profession ;  duty  to  his  fellow  man.  The  Medical  Society  was  an 
agency  that  would  fit  him  to  discharge  that  duty,  and  it  became,  therefore, 
from  his  student  days  onw^ard,  an  object  of  untiring  devotion.  He  owed  it 
to  his  profession  and  to  his  fellow  man,  he  thought,  to  keep  himself  abreast 
of  the  advances  in  the  science  and  art  of  medicine,  and  the  Medical  Society 
was  to  him  a  ix)st-graduate  school  that  enabled  him  to  discharge  that 
obligation. 

But  the  purely  scientific  and  professional  advantages  to  be  gained  by  attend- 
ance on  the  meetings  of  the  Medical  Society  and  by  participation  in  its  activ- 
ities would  hardly  have  bound  Kober  to  the  organization  as  he  was  bound. 
There  was  a  human  element  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  Society,  however,  that 
attracted  him,  for  Kober  has  always  been  pre-eminently  a  lover  of  his  fellow 
man.  Whether  that  man  was  the  Indian  on  the  plains  or  in  the  mountains 
of  the  West,  a  dark-skinned  brother  in  the  alleys  of  Washington,  a  medical 
student  struggling  against  odds  like  those  that  Kober  had  met  and  overcome, 
or  a  struggling  member  of  the  medical  profession,  it  mattered  not.  Kober 
was  his  friend  and  brother.     The  Medical  Society  afforded  a  meeting  place 

258 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

where  he  could  come  into  contact  with  his  fellow  physicians,  take  part  in  their 
discussions,  share  in  their  joys  and  successes,  sympathize  w^ith  them  in  their 
griefs  -and  failures,  and  promote  the  welfare  of  his  chosen  profession  in  the 
Capital  City:  and  so  he  threw  himself  whole-heartedly  into  its  work,  admin- 
istrative, professional,  and  public.  His  investigation  of  typhoid  fever  in  the 
{district  in  1889  and  again  in  1895  ;  his  intense  and  prolonged  labor  in  bringing 
ab(jut  the  proper  filtration  of  the  water  supply  of  Washington;  his  activity  for 
ihc  improvement  of  the  milk  supply ;  his  energy  and  effort  that  led  ultimately  to 
the  establishment  of  the  tuberculosis  hospital ;  his  early  recognition  of  gonorrhea 
and  syphilis  as  presenting  grave  social  problems  ;  his  fight  in  company  with  Gen- 
eral Sternberg,  for  the  improvement  of  housing  conditions ;  his  untiring,  self- 
sacrificing  labors  as  dean  of  the  ^ledical  School  of  Georgetown  University  in 
the  interest  of  medical  education  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  throughout 
the  country;  his  labors  in  the  interest  of  industrial  medicine  and  sanitation; 
these  mark  some  of  the  high  points  in  Kober's  professional  career.  And 
these,  and  his  indefatigable  energy  in  recording  the  results  of  his  studies  and 
observations  so  that  others  might  reap  the  benefit  of  them,  serve  as  a  measure 
(;f  a  life  that  has  brought  honor  and  distinction  on  Kober  as  a  physician, 
a  sanitarian,  and  a  philanthropist,  and  that  has  added  to  the  credit  of  the 
.Medical  Society,  the  scene  of  so  much  of  his  labors. 

But  it  is  to  the  human  side  that  we  must  always  recur  if  we  would  see  the 
true  Kober — always  simple,  straightforward,  honest,  friendly,  self-forgetting. 
One  of  his  associates  said  to  me  only  this  afternoon:  "I  always  liked  Dr. 
Kober:  lie  always  tells  the  truth."  It  is  a  sad  c(Mnmentary  on  our  ])resent 
nifjral  standards  that  a  man  should  be  chosen  for  a  friend  because  he  always 
lells  the  truth,  yet  how  many  of  us  do.  But  the  observation  concerning  Dr. 
Kober  was  true:  he  always  tells  the  truth.  Who  here  has  ever  even  so  much 
as  suspected  him  of  prevaricating  for  the  sake  of  policy  or  expediency,  or 
even  of  evading  or  beating  about  the  bush  when  truth  was  called  for.  As 
must  already  have  become  apparent  from  the  picture  I  have  drawn.  Dr.  Kober 
is  withal  a  man  of  profound  religious  convictions — not  in  the  sense  of  one 
who  adheres  to  form  or  creed  but  as  one  in  wlmm  the  .si)irit  of  religion  in  its 
\ery  essence  lives  and  breathes  and  directs  and  controls  his  daily  life:  a  man 
with  no  religion  to  talk  of  and  wear  on  his  coat  sleeve,  but  with  a  religion  to 
live  by.  In  one  of  our  more  intimate  mcmonts.  Dr.  Kober  told  me  of  a 
conversation  he  once  had  with  one  of  the  venerable  elders  of  one  of  the  Indian 
tribes  with  whom  he  came  into  contact  during  his  life  in  the  Great  West — 
a  conversation  about  the  Great  Father  and  his  divine  control  over  the  affairs 

259 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

of  this  life,  and  about  the  hfe  to  come — and  often  since  then  I  have  had  pass 
before  me  as  I  thought  of  Kober,  the  young  army  surgeon  and  the  venerable 
old  Indian,  before  the  camp  fire,  out  under  the  canopy  of  the  heavens,  dis- 
cussing the  eternal  truths  as  we  poor  mortals,  white  man  and  Indian  alike, 
reach  out  to  grasp  them.  It  has  been,  I  believe,  his  recognition  and  acknowl- 
edgment in  his  daily  life  of  all  mankind  as  brothers,  and  of  a  Divine  Provi- 
dence in  the  affairs  of  men,  that  have  made  Kober  what  he  is  to  us  today. 

Truly,  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia  has  occasion  to  be 
proud  of  George  Martin  Kober.  Truly,  it  is  indebted  to  him  for  the  work 
he  has  done  and  the  influence  he  has  exerted  over  it.  Throughout  his  pro- 
fessional career  he  has  stood  for  the  best  there  is  in  medicine;  with  Busey, 
Eliot,  and  Johnston,  wMth  P'ord  Thompson,  and  Morgan,  and  Toner,  and  a 
host  of  others  too  numerous  to  mention,  in  Washington  and  elsewhere,  whose 
lives  have  been  devoted  to  the  alleviation  of  the  sufferings  of  mankind  and  the 
uplift  of  the  human  race.  Truly,  the  Medical  Society  is  but  doing  itself  an 
honor  in  acknowledging  as  it  does  this  evening  its  indebtedness  to  Dr.  Kober 
and  its  esteem  and  affection  for  him.  Dr.  Kober,  I  pray  that  you  accept  from 
me,  therefore,  on  behalf  of  the  Medical  Society,  its  congratulations  on  the 
attainment  of  this  your  seventieth  birthday.  I  have  been  instructed  by  the 
Society  to  acknowledge  its  indebtedness  to  you  for  the  work  you  have  done 
and  the  influence  you  have  exerted  over  it.  The  Society  is  proud  to  number 
you  among  the  very  foremost  of  its  members  who  have  brought  honor  and 
distinction  to  it,  at  home  and  throughout  the  land.  And  it  is  the  prayer  of 
the  Society  that  you  may  long  be  spared  in  your  life  of  service  to  your  fellow 
men  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  your  labors  and  to  live  in  the  understanding  and 
appreciation  of  the  great  esteem  and  love  that  we  of  the  Medical  Society  bear 
toward  you. 

The  Toastmaster — Introducing   Professor  William  H.   Holmes. 

One  of  Dr.  Kober's  attributes  is  thoroughness.  This  is  true  of  his  scholar- 
ship as  well  as  of  his  work.  We  have  long  known  him  as  a  philanthropist, 
but  he  is  equally  well  known  as  an  anthropologist.  Dr.  Kober  loves  his 
fellow'-man  so  well  that  he  is  even  interested  in  his  natural  history.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Anthropological  Society  of  Washington  for  many  years 
and  is  a  former  president  of  that  body.  Many  members  of  the  Anthropo- 
logical Society  are  here  tonight  and  they  haxe  chosen  to  speak  for  them  a 
former  president  of  the  local  society  who  is  internationally  known  as  a 
scientist.     He  has  been  president  of  the  Washington  Academy  of  Sciences, 

260 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

of  the  Cosmos  Club  and  is  the  directing  force  of  the  National  Academy  of 
\rt  and  the  Anthropological  Section  of  the  National  Museum.     It  gives  me 
pleasure  to  introduce  Mr.  William  H.  Holmes. 

ProffBBor  MtUtam  %  Holntpa. 

Head  Curator  Department  of  Aiithropoloyy,  U.  S.  Xational  Miiseiim. 
Representing    the   Anthropological  Society. 

I  am  greatly  honored  and  greatly  pleased  to  be  accorded  the  privilege  of 
saying  a  word  on  the  occasion  of  the  seventieth  anniversary  of  the  appearance 
of  Dr.  George  M.  Kober  upon  the  world  stage  and  to  be  asked  to  represent 
the  Anthropological  Society  of  Washington  in  doing  homage  to  its  president 
3n  the  thirty-third  anniversary  of  its  organization. 

Dr.  Kober's  career  has  been  a  long,  an  arduous  and  a  most  honorable  one, 
and  at  70  he  is  still  in  the  foremost  rank  of  the  advancing  columns  of  science, 
education  and  humanization ;  while  about  him  are  a  multitude  of  the  voungfer 
generation  who  have  grown  up  under  his  influence  and  who  are,  in  turn,  press- 
ing forward  into  new  fields,  profiting  always  by  his  experience  and  inspired 
by  his  example. 

There  are  those  present  who  have  a  much  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
Doctor's  professional  career  than  I  claim  and  they  will  doubtless  be  heard 
from,  and  I  am  thus  tempted,  at  the  risk  of  introducing  myself  unduly  into  the 
story,  to  recall  certain  coincidental  linkings  of  his  career  and  mine  during  the 
nearly  half  century  of  our  association  with  the  national  service. 

In  1871,  two  young  fellows  reached  Washington  and  began  their  life 
work;  the  one  from  the  valley  of  the  Rhine,  the  other  from  the  American 
Rhine — the  Ohio.  Both  at  once  found  employment ;  the  one  in  Georgetown 
University  and  the  other  in  the  Smithsonian  Institute.  I-'ive  years  later, 
while  the  one  was  acting  as  surgeon  with  the  military  expedition  against 
hostile  Indians  in  southeastern  Nevada,  the  other,  in  charge  of  the  San  [uan 
division  of  Survey  of  the  Territories,  was  just  across  the  border  in  Arizona 
having  serious  trouble  with  the  treacherous  Piutes.  Whilst  the  one.  durino- 
his  service  in  Nevada,  turned  his  attention  toward  the  physical  characteristics 
of  the  tribes  and  to  the  study  and  collection  of  their  skeletal  remains,  the 
other,  as  a  result  of  his  work  among  the  cliff  dwellings  of  the  Mesa  Verde 
country,  turned  his  attention  from  the  field  of  geology  to  that  of  archeology 
and  finally  to  that  of  anthropology. 

261 


ANNIVERSARY     1^  R  I  B  U  T  E  . 

It  happened  further  that  the  great  collection  of  skeletal  remains  of  the  Indian 
trihcs,  to  which  the  one  contrihuted  while  on  duty  as  surgeon  in  the  field, 
which  later  was  assenihled  in  the  Army  Medical  Museum,  was,  through  thf 
.'.gencv  of  the  other,  transferred  to  the  United  vStates  National  Museum, 
leading  thus  ip  the  estahlishment  of  the  Division  of  Physical  Anthropology 
and  to  the  selection  of  Dr.  Ales  Hrdlicka  as  Curator.  This  was  in  due  course 
followed  hv  the  founding  of  the  Journal  of  Physical  Anthropology  of  which 
Dr.  Koher  is  an  associate  editor;  and  the  two  lives  have  thus  come  again  in 
louch,  for  while  the  one  as  President  of  the  Anthropological  Society  of 
Washington  is  here  on  his  seventieth  anniversary  to  receive  the  commendation 
of  a  multitude  of  friends,  the  other  is  here  to  hand  him  as  a  token  of  their 
esteem  a  special  copy  of  the  Journal  which  lioth,  under  the  direct  instru- 
mentalitv  of  Dr.  Hrdlicka,  were  instrumental  in  founding. 

To  you,  sir,  on  behalf  of  the  Anthropological  Society  of  Washington — a 
.'society  to  which  you  have  belonged  for  many  years  and  which  you  have  hon- 
ored by  becoming  its  president,  I  have  to  say  that  we  are  especially  gratified 
[o  have  this  opportunity  of  further  manifesting  our  appreciation  of  your 
services  to  the  society,  to  the  country,  and  to  the  nation,  and  especially  of 
expressing  our  admiration  for  the  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which  have  so 
endeared  you  to  all. 

The  Toastmaster — Introducing  the  Hon.  Henry  B.  F.  Macfarland. 

Xo  one  has  had  a  more  keen  interest  in  the  health  of  this  community  than 
Dr.  Kober.  Manv  of  his  sanitary  investigations  were  begun  primarily  to 
help  local  conditions.  It  is  only  fitting  that  the  ci\ic  and  economic  associa- 
tions of  tlie  city  should  ha\'e  representation  at  this  meeting  and  have  voice  as 
well  as  presence  at  this  gathering.  1die  gentleman  who  will  next  address  you 
is  so  identified  witli  affairs  of  the  District  of  Columbia  that  he  has  Ijecome 
almost  a  godfather  to  this  or|)han  community.  Speaking  for  the  District  of 
Columbia  is  nrj  new  experience  for  him.  In  1900,  he  delivered  the  official 
address  at  the  White  House  of  the  Xational  Capital  Centennial.  .\t  the 
P)uffalo  I'Lxposition,  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  and  the  Jamestown  lvx])osition 
he  was  the  chosen  orator  for  the  District  Day  I^xercises.  h'or  ten  years  he 
was  chairman  of  the  lioard  of  Commissioners  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  his  interest  in  kjcal  affairs  has  never  lessened.  1  take  great  pleasure  in 
mtroducing  the  Hon.  Henry  B.  F.  Macfarland. 

2{i2 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

Mm,  limt^  1.  iF.  Marfarknb 

Formerly  President  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
Representing   the   Civic   Organizations,  District  of  Columbia. 

Aristotle  said  that  a  city  was  a  place  where  men  work  together  for  noble 
ends.  That  would  be  an  ideal  city.  But  in  every  city  there  are  men  who 
are  working  together  for  noble  ends,  men  who  are  willing  to  make  sacrifices 
that  they  may  give  service.  Washington  is  rich  in  such  men  and  equally 
rich  in  women  of  the  same  spirit  and  devotion.  No  other  city  surpasses 
It  in  this  respect.  The  charge  so  frequently  made  that  there  is  lack  of 
public  spirit  here  and  tlierefore  lack  of  self-sacrificing  service  of  the  public 
is  absolutely  false.  One  value  of  such  an  occasion  as  this  is  that  it  enables 
us  to  give  the  lie  to  such  a  charge.  So  we  are  honoring  our  city  by  honor- 
ing our  guest,  for  he  is  typical  of  the  civic  patriots  who  make  the  most  of 
opportunity  in  the  service  of  the  national  capital.  They  have  the  satisfaction 
of  knowing,  as  in  this  case,  that  what  they  do  here  is  seen  all  over  the 
country  by  those  who  are  looking  for  examples  of  civic  service  and  that  they 
benefit  not  only  Washington,  but  the  United  States.  Sometimes  this  is 
said  to  be  a  thankless  task.  It  is  often  so.  But  we  ought  to  give  thanks  not 
only  as  reward,  but  as  encouragement.  "Our  praises  are  our  wages"  and 
men  are  working  for  them  as  for  no  other  wages.  Therefore  tonight  we 
heartily  thank  Dr.  Kober  for  his  service  to  our  community  and  to  our  country 
through  its  capital. 

For  thirty  years,  Dr.  Kober  has  been  identified  with  practically  every 
movement  for  social  welfare  of  the  national  capital.  He  has  been  an  exam- 
ple to  those  who,  retired  from  active  life,  come  here  to  live.  He  recognized 
at  once  his  obligation  to  the  community.  With  his  sense  of  duty,  he  could 
not  be  a  parasite.  Ever  since  he  came  to  Washington,  he  has  been  active 
in  public  service. 

He  became  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  .\ssociated  Charities 
in  1895,  one  of  his  first  public  efforts  here  and  has  been  ever  since  faithful 
to  the  duties  of  that  office  as  a  member  of  the  F.xecutive  and  other  standing 
committees  and  in  the  line  of  all  his  efforts  to  promote  thrift  particularly 
active  through  the  agency  of  the  Committee  on  Provident   Plans. 

In  1906,  he  was  a])pointed  l)y  I^resident  Roosevelt  a  member  of  the  P)oard 
(jf  Charities.  He  has  served  continuously  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Medical  Charities.     He  designed  the  Tuberculosis  Hospital  which  was  opened 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

in  1908  on  the  Georgia  Avenue  tract  which  the  Conunissioners  had  acquired 
for  a  municipal  hospital.  The  Sixth  International  Congress  on  Tuberculosis 
iield  in  Washington  in  1908  awarded  him  a  medal  for  the  design  of  this  hos- 
pital. He  was  a  pioneer  in  the  campaign  against  tuberculosis,  one  of  the 
founders  and  always  a  leader  in  the  local  Association  for  the  Prevention  of 
Tuberculosis  and  a  leader  also  in  the  National  Association  of  which  he  was 
president  in   1915. 

President  Roosevelt  in  1907,  appointed  him  a  member  of  the  Presidents' 
Homes  Commission.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Social  Better- 
ment and  as  such  prepared  monographs  on  Industrial  Hygiene  and  Social 
Betterment,  published  in  1908  as  Senate  Document  No.  644.  One  of  the 
founders  of  the  Washington  Sanitary  Improvement  Company,  organized  in 
1897,  and  also  of  the  Washington  Sanitary  Housing  Company,  organized 
in  1904,  he  served  for  years  as  secretary  and  latterly  for  a  number  of  years 
as  president  of  both  companies. . 

He  has  been  a  member  and  active  worker  in  the  Monday  Evening  Club, 
the  Civic  Center,  Social  Hygiene  Association  and  Playground  Association. 
He  has  endowed  scholarships  for  excellence  in  Domestic  Economy  in  the 
Public  Schools. 

But  then  I  fail  to  enumerate  all  about  this  model  citizen  of  the  National 
Capital;  and  after  all  it  is  the  spirit  in  which  these  services  have  been  rendered, 
rather  than  the  quality  and  cpiantity  of  the  service  that  was  given,  of  which 
Vve  think  first  and  most  tonight.  There  are  men  in  Washington  who  get 
discouraged  because  they  have  no  political  opportunity  in  the  District  of 
Columbia..  They  say  we  are  not  citizens  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  we 
have  none  of  the  political  duties  of  the  District  of  Columbia ;  why  should  we 
care?     Why  should  we  take  any  interest  in  the  affairs  of  our  city? 

The  time  will  come,  I  believe,  when  we  shall  have  national  representation 
in  the  Senate,  the  House,  and  Electoral  College,  and  we  shall  have  full  scope 
for  our  political  talent  and  activity  when  it  will  be  no  longer  possible  for  our 
friend  from  Britain  to  smile  as  a  reminder  that  we  fought  the  Revolutionary 
War  for  the  principle  that  "Taxation  without  Representation  is  Tyranny." 

But  until  that  time  comes,  and  it  may  be  distant,  we  shall  have  constantly 
before  us  the  common  task  of  the  common  citizen  of  any  community.  And 
if  we  have  the  spirit  of  Doctor  Kober  we  shall  do  that  ta.sk  with  the  zest,  the 
enthusiasm,  the  thoroughness,  and  therefore  with  the  success,  whicli  has 
brought  us  all  here  tonight  in  affection  and  admiration. 

264 


A  N  N  I  \^  E  R  S  A  R  Y     TRIBUTE. 

The  Toastmaster — Introducing  Dr.   Robert  S.  Woodward. 

Several  vears  before  Dr.  Kober  was  born,  a  Scotch  immigrant  lad  began 
to  work  in  a  mill  near  Alleghany  Pennsylvania,  at  a  salary  of  $1.20  a  week. 
Last  year  this  boy  died  after  having  given  away  to  varicnis  philanthrcjpies 
over  $300,000,000.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these  l)enefactions.  the 
Carnegie  Institution  of  \\'ashington.  was  founded  in  1903.  Great  difficult) 
w.'is  experienced  in  finding  a  suitable  head  for  this  new  type  of  research  insti- 
tution, until  the  governing  body  discovered  their  ideal  in  a  fannuis  research 
worker  who  was  at  that  time  head  of  the  Department  of  Pure  Science  of 
Columbia  Universitv.  Under  the  care  and  direction  of  this  eminent  scientist 
the  notable  achievements  of  the  Carnegie  Institute  of  Washington  have  been 
;iccomplished.  X6  one  could  be  better  qualified  to  speak  for  the  scientific 
societies  of  Washington — included  in  the  Washington  Academy  of  Sciences 
than  Dr.  Woodward. 

Writing  his  acceptance  of  the  committee's  invitation,  he  said:  "You  can 
count  on  me  to  help  sound  the  praises  of  our  colleague  and  to  abuse  liim 
appropriately  for  his  delay  in  joining  the  septuagenarians." 

I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  Dr.  Robert  S.  Woodward,  President  of  the 
Carnegie  Institution  oi  Washington, 

President  of  the  Carnegie  Institntiun  of  Ji'asliiiu/ton. 
Representing  the  Jl'asliington  Academy  of  Sciences. 

It  is  a  rare  and  a  happy  privilege  accorded  us  tonight  to  celebrate  the 
attainment  tothe  ranks  of  the  septuagenarians  of  our  friend  and  colleague  and 
coadjutor  in  all  good  works,  Dr.  Kober.  It  is  a  special  personal  privilege,  since, 
having  preceded  him  by  many  months,  nearly  a  whole  year,  indeed,  in  arri\- 
ing  at  the  ])ro\'erbial  threc-score-and-tcn  e])och,  I  am  tliercln-  i)ernu'tted  to 
patronize  him  a  little  and  to  tell  you  in  his  presence  of  the  high  esteem  in 
which  we  all  hold  him.  It  is  a  si>ecial  source  of  relief  also  at  this  time  lo 
turn  from  the  turmoil  of  the  affairs  of  a  sadly  shattered,  if  not  wrecked, 
world  to  a  consideration  of  the  altruistic  labors  and  achievements  of  our 
versatile,  unpretentious,  indefatigable  and  always  effective  associate.  Dr.  Kober. 

The  value  of  a  man  to  society  is  measiu^cd  by  the  work  he  accomplishes. 
'I'bis  ma\-  be  cither  of  immediate  or  of  futiUT  benefit  to  our  race.     The  work 

265 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

uf  Dr.  Kober  is  conspicuous  in  both  these  respects ;  he  has  not  only  sought 
to  remedy  existing-  ills  but  to  prevent  their  recurrence  and  to  forestall  the 
development  of  new  ills.  His  vision  comprehends  at  once  the  past,  the  present, 
:ind  the  future.  He  has  proved  himself  to  possess  both  the  insight  and  the 
foresight  uf  a  prophet  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  His  activities  in  the 
j^iromotion  of  sound  sanitation,  from  its  foundation  up,  and  his  preaching 
and  practice  in  right  living  make  him  one  of  the  leaders  of  progressive 
|)athology. 

But  I  presume  the  best  service  he  has  given  to  society  is  that  rendered  as 
Dean  of  the  Medical  Faculty  of  Georgetown  University.  Having  had  some 
experience  in  the  business  of  a  deanship  and  allied  occupations,  I  am  disposed 
lo  bow  in  admiration  to  any  man  who  can  serve  a  faculty  for  twenty  years 
in  such  a  capacity.  A  dean  has  a  difficult  and  often  thankless  task.  It  is 
his  duty  to  stand  between  the  conservative  body  of  trustees,  or  governors, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  commonly  impetuous  members  of  the  faculty  on  the 
other  hand.  It  is  his  duty  to  recognize  facts  and  to  secure  the  working- 
relations  of  reciprocity  between  these  two  groups.  His  capacity  and  reputa- 
tion are  always  under  strain  and  often  in  peril.  Only  men  with  sound  diges- 
tion and  a  lively  sense  of  humor  and  proportion  can  survive. 

In  Dr.  Kober's  case,  however,  the  indispensable  relation  of  reciprocity  just 
referred  to  have  been  furnished  in  high  degree  I  mistake  not,  by  the  university 
and  by  the  faculty  he  serves.  I  am  an  outsider,  as  you  are  well  aware,  and 
may  not  pretend  to  know  much  about  Georgetown  University.  Nevertheless, 
I  began  making  observatifMis  on  this  academic  establishment  more  than  thirty 
vears  ago,  when  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  become  acquainted  with  Father 
Ilagen.  then  in  charge  of  the  University  Observatory  and  now  (and  for 
years  past)  in  charge  of  the  Vatican  Observatory  in  Rome.  It  was  plain 
that  a  fine,  high  spirit  and  practice  prevailed  at  the 'University  then  and  it 
lias  become  plainer  and  more  impressive  as  the  years  have  passed. 

Naturally,  in  recent  years  I  have  heard  more  of  the  medical  college  and  of 
the  Georgetown  Hospital  than  of  other  branches  of  the  University.  As  a 
man  grows  older  and  more  and  more  in  need  of  repairs,  precaution  requires 
him  to  contemplate  the  beneficent  provision  now  made  in  our  leading  hospitals 
for  bodily  derangements.  It  has  been  my  privilege  also  to  know  intimately 
of  the  skillful  and  the  merciful  treatment  accorded  at  the  Hospital  to  a 
numlier  of  close  friends,  friends  ranging  through  all  walks  of  life. 

We  have  not  met  on  this  occasion  to  moralize.  It  is  an  occasion  rather 
for  felicitation  and  for  good  fellowship.     I  may  be  pardoned,  however,  for 

266 


A  N  N  I  \^  E  R  S  A  R  Y     TRIBUTE. 

recalling  your  attention  to  the  principles  for  which  colleges,  universities  and 
other  altruistic  establishments  stand.  They  are  the  principles  which  have 
survived  throughout  the  ages.  They  have  flourished  even  amid  the  ruins  of 
empires.  They  are  espoused,  upheld  and  effectively  applied  by  only  a  rela- 
tively small  number  of  representatives  of  our  race.  There  is  much  evidence 
in  contemporary  events  to  indicate  that  such  representatives  are  now  needed  as 
never  before.  All  hail,  therefore,  to  Dr.  Kober  and  men  of  his  kind!  Let  us 
welcome  him  as  a  sage  of  seventy  but  indulge  the  hope  that  he  will  long 
remain  young. 

The  Toastmaster — Introducing  Dr.  Harvey  W.  Wiley. 

A  much  traveled  visitor  to  Washington  during  the  war  period,  wlio  was 
:i  guest  at  the  Cosmos  Club,  said  that  he  had  never  before  seen  so  many  dis- 
linguished  men  regularlv  assembled  under  one  roof.  Modesty  is  a  \irtue 
which  no  toastmaster  should  possess,  so  I  will  have  to  find  some  other  reason 
for  not  telling  vou  of  the  high  standard  of  membership  in  this  club — l)esides 
there  are  manv  members  of  the  club  here  tonight  who  might  perhaps  blush. 
It  will  be  no  exaggeration,  however,  to  say  that  to  have  been  president  of 
ihis  famous  organization  implies  a  greater  degree  of  scholarship  and  achieve- 
ment than  is  represented  liy  the  highest  academic  honor  in  the  gift  of  an)- 
.'f  the  universities.  It  is  fitting  that  a  former  president  of  the  club  should 
sjjeak  of  Dr.  Kober's  connection  with  it.  This  gentleman  in  writing  his 
acceptance  said:  "I  shall  be  glad  to  speak  after  the  dinner  and  tell  him  what 
a  bov  will)  was  six  vears  old  when  he  was  born  thinks  of  this  callow  \outh." 

\'ou  will  recognize  the  writer  when  I  tell  you  that  he  is  "The  foremost 
authority  *on  the  chemistry  of  foods."  and  the  only  table  he  has  ncn  madt- 
absolutely  safe  is  the  peace  table.  Dr.  Harvey  Wiley  really  needs  no 
introduction. 

Sr.  ^nrvH}  W,  fflilru 

Director  uf  Hurcmi  of  Foods,  Saiiitadoii  and  Health. 
Representing  ilic  Cosmos  Club. 

Mr.  Symposiarch: 

In  your  letter  whicli  I  received  in  regard  to  this  celebration.  1  was  told 
"that  I  was  to  represent  the  Cosmos  Club.  Xow.  fortunately,  the  day  has 
passed  when  I  can  represent  the  Cosmos  Clul)  and  I  doubt  if  there  is  any 
living  t^or.son  who  could  represent  that  remarkal)le  aggregation  of  intelligence, 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

learning,  philosophy,  pathology  and  patriotism.     1  shall  not  attempt  to  speak 
for  the  club,  but  what  I  s^y  shall  be  from  my  own  heart. 

I  nave  known  Dr.  Kober  for  nearly  a  third  of  a  century.  I  am  inclined 
to  bestow  upon  him  the  appellation  "right  man."  I  have  had  some  oppor- 
tunity to  ascertain  Dr.  Kober's  attitude  on  many  great  problems  affecting 
human  welfare  and  1  have  ne\er  known  him  to  be  on  the  wrong  side.  You 
may  be  interested  in  knowing  how  I  reached  this  decision.  It  is  a  perfectly 
simple  method  which  any  of  you  can  adopt.  In  every  one  of  these  questions 
lo  which  I  refer  Dr.  Kober  has  been  on  my  side.  I  have  not  sounded  him 
vet  on  Albert  Einstein's  theory  respecting  the  mental  delinquency  of  Isaac 
Newton,  but  I  have  no  doubt  when  he  does  make  up  his  mind  on  that  point  he 
will  be  right,  much  as  Mr.  Newton  might  protest.  I  am  free  to  confess 
also  that  I  do  not  know  his  attitude  on  the  League  of  Nations,  but  I  have 
great  faith  in  my  belief  that  when  he  does  chance  to  express  himself  you  will 
find  him  again  occupying  the  same  old  position.  I  will  urge  him,  however, 
if  he  desires  to  be  recorded  in  the  matter  before  the  funeral  takes  place,  that 
he  might  do  well  to  tell  his  patient  just  where  he  stands  now.  Almost  every- 
body feels  like  saying  a  good  word  for  a  corpse. 

What  I  recall  with  most  delight  and  pleasure  in  my  association  with  the 
guest  of  the  evening  is  the  great  fight  that  we  put  up  for  the  Pure  Food  and 
J^rug  Law.  Dr.  Kober  was  always  to  be  had  on  demand.  In  the  25  years 
in  which  this  legislation  was  considered  before  the  Committees  of  Congress, 
Dr.  Kober  was  always  an  interested  and  helpful  attendant.  No  kind  of 
sophistry  on  the  part  of  those  members  of  the  Committee  who  wanted  to  be 
"shown,"  ever  in  the  least  disturbed  his  self-poise,  his  suavity,  or' his  ability 
U>  answer  the  puzzling  questions.  When  he  was  urged  to  consider  the  fact 
that  the  mea^ires  which  he  espoused  would  "ruin  business,"  he  did  not 
respond  as  he  might  well  have  done,  "business  be  damned,"  but  he  proceeded 
to  impress  upon  the  Committee  that  the  welfare  of  humanity,  the  health  of 
the  people  and  their  proper  nourishment  were  a  great  deal  more  important 
problems  than  the  accumulation  of  wealth  by  a  few  trading  in  adulterated 
and  misbranded  products.  So  calm  was  he  in  his  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject, so  forceful  in  his  attitude  and  so  truthful  in  his  replies  that  he  always 
came  ofif  victor  in  these  encounters  with  the  Committee. 

I  have  had  the  honor  and  pleasure  of  being  associated  with  Dr.  Kober  in 
his  lifetime  devotion  to  the  conquering  oi  tuberculosis.  I  do  not  recall  ever 
having  been  present  at  a  meeting  of  the  Directors  of  the  Anti-Tuberculosis 

26.S 


ANNIVERSARY    TRIBUTE. 

Society  in  the  District  of  Columbia  at  which  he  was  not  present.  I  regret 
that  owing  to  many  circumstances  over  which  I  had  no  control,  he  has  had 
many  opportunities  to  note  my  own  absence  from  these  meetings. 

Dr.  Kober  early  perceived  that  prophylactic  medicine  was  a  greater  factor 
in  human  welfare  than  therapeutic  medicine.  He  has,  therefore,  given  all 
his  time,  his  ability  and  his  means  largely  in  this  direction.  His  monumental 
work  on  "Occupational  Diseases  and  Their  Control"  is  an  evidence  of  his 
zeal,  his  mastery  of  the  theme,  and  his  helpful  instructive  work.  Those  who 
are  able  to  drive  a  motor  car  have  often  noticed  that  in  one  make,  quite  com- 
mon, there  seems  to  be  an  innate  faculty  of  self  reparation.  For  instance,  if 
in  driving  a  Ford  one  of  the  cylinders  misses  fire,  you  need  not  get  out  with 
a  monkey  wrench  and  a  screw  driver  and  repair  the  trouble.  All  you  have 
to  do  is  to  keep  on  going  and  presently  all  will  go  well.  This  is  a  practice 
which  leads  one  to  follow  that  school  of  medicine  which  very  properly  regards 
the  human  body  as  a  Ford  motor  car,  capable  of  restoring  of  itself  any  dis- 
located parts.  All  you  have  to  do  is  just  to  let  "natur  caper,"  and  one  great 
function  of  preventive  medicine  is  to  see  that  nature  has  a  chance  to  "caper" 
properly.  We  have  long  since  learned  that  drugs  do  not  cure.  They  may 
sometimes  aid  nature,  but  they  never  can  function  when  nature  gives  up  the 
job.  He  has  realized  throughout  his  later  life  at  least,  that  sanitation,  diet, 
exercise,  sleep,  play  and  favorable  environment,  condition  the  true  vis  mcdi- 
catrix  naturae.  In  doing  this  Dr.  Kober  has  not  become  an  osteopath  to 
crack  jokes  on  spinal  columns  and  thus  relieve  human  ills.  He  has  main- 
tained his  view  of  a  true  physiologist  who  sees  in  the  human  body  the  most 
wonderful  complex  yet  discovered,  but  nevertheless  governed  by  an  unalter- 
able law.  He  would  not  send  his  ailing  watch  to  a  blacksmith  for  repairs, 
nor  his  ailing  body  to  an  osteopath. 

Dr.  Kober  has  fortunately  iDeen  so  situated  as  to  give  the  greater  part  of 
his  time  to  help  humanity.  If  everyone  were  animated  by  the  same  spirit 
which  he  has  always  shown,  then  the  greatest  blessing  that  could  come  to  a 
man  would  be  to  be  born  with  an  income  so  that  he  might  give  all  his  work  to 
philanthnjpy.  In  that  case,  however,  Hamlet  would  soon  be  minus  a  job 
as  there  would  be  no  one  needing  help.  The  man  who  closes  his  eye?  to  the 
"will  o'  the  wisp"  of  fortune-making,  and  sees  only  the  work  he  can  do  for 
human  l)etterment  deserves  all  the  praise.  We  have  come  to  look  upon  the 
acquisition  of  wealth  as  the  only  measure  of  success.  We  have  al.so  seen 
some  illustrations  of  the  men  who  acquire  wealth  who  have  given  most  gen- 
erously to  human  improvement.      In  the  last  few  years  we  have  seen  legisla- 

260 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

tive  efforts  which  tend  to  rehe\'e  the  wealthy  of  a  hirge  part  of  their  means, 
in  some  instances  up  to  65%  of  their  tcHal  income.  How  mucli  better  it 
would  be  if  we  had  in  this  country  the  same  public  spirit  which  ruled  Athens 
in  the  glorious  days  of  (ireek  civilization.  .Mthoug'h  there  was  no  law  to 
that  effect,  yet  public  opinion  was  so  strong  in  that  center  of  culture  as  to 
j)revent  a  man  from  accumulating  wealth  for  his  own  use.  He  gave  his 
wealth  freely  to  the  state  and  lived  himself  in  a  humble  home  such  as  the 
ordinary  citizen  of  Athens  inhabited.  Dr.  Kober  has  always  been  actuated 
by  the  noble  spirit  of  the  civic  life  of  Athens. 

Usually  when  one  reaches  the  dignity  of  septuagenarian  it  is  expected  that 
ihe  younger  members  of  the  community  shall  do  him  honor.  I  feel,  there- 
fore, that  I  am  particularly  favored  in  having  been  selected  as  one  of  those 
who  came  to  do  him  honor  and  still  look  upon  him  as  a  boy.  I  love  to 
encourage  youth.  I  remember  Gladstone's  great  work  entitled  "J'-i^'^'''ti-is 
Mundi,"  written  when  he  had  reached  his  eightieth  year  and  as  Gladstone 
looked  down  on  that  sea  of  youth  to  which  he  ascribed  the  hope  and  salvation 
of  the  w^orld,  so  do  I  look  down  on  this  youth  whom  we  honor  here  tonight 
and  trust  that  now  at  the  threshold  of  his  great  career  he  may  keep  that 
strength  and  courage,  that  hope  and  ambition  which  he  has  manifested  in  his 
boyish  days  and  that  now  as  he  steps  into  the  full  light  and  activity  of 
adolescent  maturity  he  may  keep  his  gaze,  as  he  has  already  done,  on  the 
high  mark  which  he  has  set,  that  he  may  fail  not  in  his  aspirations  for  the 
betterment  of  the  community,  and  when,  as  an  octogenarian,  he  looks  back  on 
the  most  fruitful  decennial  period  of  his  life,  he  may  feel  that  he  has  hitched 
bis  chariot  to  a  star  and  the  hitcliing  strap  has  never  been  broken. 

The  Toastmaster — Introducing  Dr.  Charles  W.  Richardson. 

One  of  the  first  and  most  important  tasks  which  confronted  the  Medical 
Society  in  arranging  for  this  evening's  event  was  the  selection  of  a  chairman. 
It  was  conceded  that  the  one  who  was  to  hold  this  tried  position  must  be  an 
old  and  tried  member  of  the  Medical  Society  and  must  ha\e  an  unusual 
capacity  for  organization.  The  chairman  who  was  selected  has  already  testi- 
fied to  his  capacity  for  organization  by  the  success  of  this  event.  He  is  a 
man  distinguished  in  the  surgical  specialty  which  has  been  his  life  work,  called 
to  many  posts  of  honor  in  the  associations  of  those  devoted  to  rhinology  and 
otology,  and  distinguished  and  honored  for  his  work  in  the  office  of  the  Sur- 
geon General  and  elsewhere  during  the  great  World  War.      He  has  something 


Presented    to     George     ::.:•.:..     ....;.     .!../..     i.L.D.,    Soldier,    Seieiitist,    Pliysieiaii 

Philanthropist,  by  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  Allied 
Scientifie  and  Civic  So(i((ie^^  on  his  Seventieth  Birthday,  March  28,  1920. 


i/'((/ 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

very  important  to  say  both  to  Dr.  Kober  and  to  the  guests  at  this  dinner  this 
evening  and  I  will  waste  no  further  words  in  introducing  Dr.  Charles  W. 
Richardson,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Arrangements  for  this  evening's 
function. 

President  American  Otological  Society:  President  American  Laryngological 

Rhinological   and  Otological   Society;  At  present    Trustee 

Ainerican-  Medical  Association. 

Dr.  George  Martin  Kober — This  day,  the  anniversary  of  your  seventieth 
birthday,  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  allied  scientific 
and  civic  organizations  honor  themselves  in  bearing  tribute  to  you. 

We  are  proud  of  the  fact  that  each  of  the  contributing  organizations  here 
assembled  claim  you  as  their  own  ;  but  we  of  the  medical  profession  are  prouder 
of  the  fact  that  we  have  had  you  in  our  fellowship  longer.  This  is  manifest  fur- 
ther from  the  evidences  you  bear  of  our  training,  for  without  this  training  and 
the  broad  humanitarian  principles  developed  in  you  out  of  your  medical  experi- 
ence, it  is  possible,  but  not  probable  that  your  mind  would  have  been  directed 
along  the  various  social,  civic  and  philanthropic  efforts,  to  which  you  have 
directed  your  attention  during  the  latter  days  of  your  eventful  career. 

You  are  a  living  demonstration  of  what  a  man  of  vision,  capacity,  scientific 
tiaining,  with  indomitable  courage  and  persistence  may  accomplish  within 
three  score  and  ten  years. 

You.,  sir.  epitomize  the  honor  of  labor.  In  whatever  field  of  labor  you 
entered,  you  gave  to  it  your  uttermost  efforts.  What  an  example  you  offer 
to  the  youth  of  the  present  age! 

Distinguished    in   medicine,   hygiene,   anthropology,   general   science,    soci- 
.logy,  philanthropy,  you  stand  today  in  your  seventieth  year  as  one  whom  this 
as.semblage  and  the  community  at  large  take  pride  in  honoring. 

And  as  a  special  mark  of  affectionate  esteem  for  you  the  pleasant  task  has 
been  accorded  me  of  placing  in  your  hands  this  emblem  of  our  pride,  confidence 
and  admiration.  When  this  evening  with  its  addresses  and  delightful  sur- 
'•oundings  is  all  but  a  memory  you  may  turn  to  this  emblem  as  the  material 
evidences  of  the  well  wishes  of  your  friends  for  the  remaining  happy  years 
that  are  to  come  to  you, 

"Your  health  toiight 
Take    from    this   board    of   friendly   hearts 
The  memory  of  a  proud  delight." 

271 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

Deem  of  the  Georgetown  Medical  ScJwol. 
Response. 

Mr.  President,  Friends  and  Colleagues: 

I  thank  you  from  the  depths  of  my  heart  for  this  evidence  of  good  will 
and  esteem.  Your  kindness  and  the  heautiful  words  spoken  are  overwhelming 
and  I  find  it  difficult  to  give  adequate  expression  of  my  gratitude. 

When  =,T,  years  ago  I  landed  in  New  York  Harljor,  I  was  indeed  a  vouth 
without  a  country.  My  father,  a  German  revolutionist  of  1848,  had  vowed 
that  none  of  his  sons  should  serve  under  a  German  prince,  king  or  potentate, 
and  upon  arriving  at  military  age  one  after  the  other  renounced  allegiance  to 
the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  and  sought  refuge  in  this  hospitable  country,  the 
home  of  the  free  and  the  brave.  If,  in  the  course  of  years,  I  have  become 
a  useful  citizen  of  my  adopted  country,  I  owe  it  not  only  to  the  inspiration  of 
my  dear  father,  who  shared  the  ideals  of  men  like  Carl  Schurz,  but  also  in 
large  part  to  my  good  American  friends  who  always  acted  upon  the  Golden 
Rule. 

After  four  years  service  in  the  Army  I  met  Senator  Schurz  in  Washington, 
in  1 87 1,  and  became  a  ready  convert  to  his  doctrines  on  the  Americanization 
of  the  German  element  in  this  country.  There  were  at  that  time  between 
five  and  six  thousand  German  born  citizens  in  this  city- — all  engaged  in  useful 
occupations  and  many  of  their  descendants  occupy  prominent  positions  in 
business  and  the  skilled  trades  today.  It  is  true  they  had  a  German  news- 
paper founded  in  1854  by  a  former  townsman  of  mine — they  also  had  their 
singing  societies,  sporting,  athletic  and  dramatic  clubs  and  churches  in  which 
the  services  were  conducted  in  German,  because  they  were  in  the  transition 
stage  and  had  to  acquire  a  new  language.  But  at  heart  they  were  all  true 
Americans,  and  during  the  Civil  War,  the  editor  of  the  German  Journal 
organized  a  battalion  of  Germans,  left  his  printing  office  and  fought  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union.  His  son,  Edward  Koch,  has  been  connected  with 
ihe  United  States  Census  Bureau  for  many  years  and  is  Chief  of  the  Division 
of  Population  of  the  present  census. 

These  German  gatherings  were  not  infrequently  graced  by  the  presence  of 
members  of  the  Cabinet  and  other  men  prominent  in  public  life.  Senator 
Schurz  and  our  fellow  citizen,  the  Honorable  Simon  Wolf,  never  lost  an 
opportunity  on  such  occasions  to  impress  upon  the  Germans  the  ijnportance 

272 


A  N  N  1  V  E  R  S  .\  R  Y     TRIBUTE. 

oi  speedy  Americanization.  My  own  contribution  to  the  movement  con- 
sisted in  my  opposition,  in  1874,  to  the  organization  of  a  German  Dispensary. 
but  I  did  aid  in  the  reorganization  of  the  Central  Dispensary  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  few  (lerman  speaking  physicians  on  the  dispensary  staff.  In  this 
I  was  ably  supported  by  my  friend,  the  publisher  of  the  German  Joiinml.  I 
could  accomplish  my  aim  all  the  more  readily,  as  my  prospective  appointment 
in  the  army  and  removal  to  the  Pacific  Coast  precluded  all  suspicion  of  sel- 
fish motives. 

1  look  upon  my  early  life  in  Washington,  from  September,  187 1,  to  fulv. 
1874.  as  arduous  but  extremely  profitable.  In  addition  to  my  duties  in  the 
Surgeon-General's  Office  I  attended  the  evening  courses  at  Georgetown  Med- 
ical College,  and  have  sincerely  grateful  recollections  of  my  professors  and 
my  earnest  fellow  students.  As  pointed  out  by  Dr.  William  C.  \\'oodward, 
I  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  attending  the  meetings  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  as  a  Senior  medical  student,  but  had  little  suspicion  then 
that  I  would  at  some  future  time  be  tendered  a  complimentarv  dinner  bv  the 
members  thereof  and  receive  enconium  for  my  activities  in  this  Society.  I 
fear  my  former  chief  has  deviated  from  his  usual  judicious  temper  and.  like 
many  others  befitting  an  occasion  of  this  kind,  has  become  an  over-indulgent 
critic.  He  has  failed  to  tell  you  that  1  have  only  partially  discharged  my 
obligations  to  the  Society  and  this  community  and  that  without  your  co-oper- 
ation my  feeble  efforts  would  have  been  in  vain.  I  must  own  here  that 
whatever  success  I  may  have  attained  in  my  professional  career  is  largely  due 
to  the  teachings  and  example  of  men  of  the  type  of  Busey,  Elic^,  Johnston- 
Mackall,  Ashford,  Morgan.  Ford  Thompson  and  a  host  of  others  who  espe- 
cially impressed  me  by  their  steadfast  purpose  to  keep  abreast  with  the  pro- 
gress of  medical  science.  I  sincerely  hope  that  every  physician,  young  and 
o\(\  alike,  will  enroll  in  the  ranks  of  builders  of  our  Medical  Temple,  where 
study,  honesty  and  truth  serve  as  watchwords.  I  still  am  convinced  that  a 
medical  society  is  a  graduate  school  in  which  the  members  teach  each  other. 
This  form  nf  education  cannot  fail  to  prove  of  value  not  only  to  the  members. 
but  also  to  the  public  at  large.  Indeed  the  progress  of  sanitation  of  the 
Xational  capital  is  intimately  connected  with  the  history  of  our  old  and 
lionorable  institution. 

1  extend  my  heartiest  thanks  to  I'residcnt  llagncr  to  Toaslmaslcr  l'"oole  and 
to  two  of  my  oldest  yet  y<tung  friends.  Richardson  and  Woodward,  for  the  kind 
words  spcjken.     To  the  members  of  the  Society   1  owe  s])ecial  thanks  t'or  the 

273 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

many  honors  conferred  njjon  nic  dnring  llic  last  46  years,  and  which  have  cnl- 
minated  tonight  in  tliis  spleiuHd  testimonial  of  yonr  good  w  ill.  It  is  my  fondest 
hope  that  the  Medical  Society  of  the  District  of  Coliimhia  may  continne  to  grow 
in  usefuhiess  and  influence  commensurate  with  the  physical  and  intellectual 
development  of  the  capital  of  a  great  nation. 

I  also  wish  to  thank  the  poet  of  the  occasion,  my  old  and  true  friend,  Dr. 
S.  Adolphus  Knopf  of  New  York,  for  his  presence  and  the  beautiful  senti- 
ments expressed  by  a  man  wdiose  fame  as  a  successful  crusader  against  tuber- 
culosis is  world-wide. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  speak  of  my  military  career  as  a  "Soldier  and 
Country  Doctor"'  from  1874  to  1889.  It  was  a  life  full  of  impressive  events, 
and  I  have  learned  many  lessons  in  humanity  and  the  brotherhood  of  man 
from  my  soldier  and  cowboy  patients,  the  sturdy  pioneers  and  the  devoted 
Jesuit  Missionary  Fathers  of  the  Far  West.  I  desire,  however,  to  express 
my  deep  obligations  to  the  Medical  Corps  of  the  United  States  Army,  and 
especially  to  Surgeons  Wright,  Burns,  Barnes,  Crane,  Billings,  Woodward, 
Otis  and  last  but  not  least  Sternberg,  who  did  much  to  promote  my  youthful 
iiopes  and  aspirations.  All  of  these  men  have  gone  to  their  long  home  but 
their  descendant  representatives  here,  I  am  sure,  will  gladly  accept  my  thanks. 
The  medical  officers  have  achieved  great  success  in  preventive  medicine,  the 
results  of  which  are  of  incalculable  value  to  the  human  race,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  a  grateful  Congress  may  so  regulate  the  salaries  as  to  attract  good  men 
into  the  public  services  and  keep  them  there  so  that  the  warfare  against  pre- 
ventable diseases  may  go  on  to  a  final  victory. 

I  greatly  appreciate  the  presence  of  representatives  of  the  Washington 
Academy  of  Sciences  and  Allied  Societies  and  the  kind  and  friendly  words 
spoken  by  Dr.  Woodward  of  the  Carnegie  Institution.  I  can  only  say  that 
in  all  my  connections  with  scientific  bodies  1  have  received  more  knowledge 
than  was  possible  for  me  to  impart.  To  me  these  affiliations  have  been  a 
great  source  of  education — they  have  given  me  the  power  to  think,  a  broader 
vision  of  life,  taught  me  the  value  of  pure  science,  revealed  to  me  the  beauties 
of  creation  and  the  marvelous  achievements  in  the  different  departments  of 
science  for  the  benefit  of  mankind.  I  regard  science  as  the  conservator  of 
truth  and  its  light  is  light  from  Heaven. 

To  my  friends  of  the  Anthropological  Society  of  Washington  I  owe 
special  thanks  for  their  partiality  in  choosing  me  as  their  presiding  officer  for 
three  different  terms.     They  were  also  instrumental  in  the  organization  of  a 

274 


A  N  N  I  V  E  R  S  A  R  Y     TRIBUTE. 

National  Committee,  which  made  the  presentation  of  the  Anniversary  volume 
uf  the  Journal  of  Physical  Antliropology  possible,  and  have  thus  conferred  a 
singular  honor  which  no  man,  however  modest,  can  fail  to  be  proud  of.  I 
appreciate  the  words  spoken  by  Professor  Holmes  verv  deeplv.  May  the  life 
of  the  Nestor  of  American  Anthropology  be  spared  for  many  years  to  come, 
so  that  his  bright,  fertile  and  discerning  mind,  always  urging,  encouraging 
and  inspiring,  may  continue  to  exert  a  still  greater  influence  on  American 
Anthropt)logy  which,  thanks  to  his  leadership,  already  occupies  a  most  envi- 
able position  amongMhe  nations  of  the  earth.  My  association  with  men  of 
science  in  their  regular  meeting  places  and  in  the  hospitable  home  of  Dr. 
Alexander  Graham  Bell  have  been  so  profitable  that  I  cannot  refrain  from 
urging  my  medical  friends  to  seek  similar  contact. 

My  sincere  thanks  are  due  Professor  Wiley  for  his  appreciative  remarks. 
lie  was  the  author  of  the  Pure  Food  and  Drug  Bill  and  deserves  all  the  credit. 
I  was  only  a  convert  to  the  cause  which  he  represented  and  followed  his 
leadership.  By  his  successful  campaign  against  adulterated  foods  and  drugs 
which  vitally  affect  not  only  the  pocket-book  but  also  the  health  of  the  con- 
sumer, he  is  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  the  nation.  Moreover,  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  law  has  made  for  better  citizenship.  It  was  arduous  work,  car- 
ried to  a  finish  without  fear,  favor  or  affection,  and  I  can  only  express  the 
hope  that  he  may  enjoy  many  years  of  usefulness  in  the  cause  of  humanity, 
good  government  and  good  citizenship. 

After  hearing  Mr.  Macfarland's  citation  from  Aristotle,  I  realize  quite 
fully  that  both  of  us,  as  also  Professor  Wiley,  owe  our  ideals  of  civic  duties 
to  this  great  philosopher,  who  also  was  a  great  physician,  and  showed  his 
sanitary  acumen  when  he  wrote  in  liis  Politia :  "The  greatest  influence  on 
health  is  exerted  by  those  things  which  we  most  freely  and  frecjuently  require 
for  our  existence,  and  this  is  especially  true  of  water  and  air."  If  he  had 
lived  in  these  modern  times  of  food  and  drug  sophistication  he  would  doubt- 
less have  emphasized  the  importance  of  pure  food  and  drugs.  It  is  a  fact 
however  that  no  two  factors  have  contrilnited  more  to  the  health  of  the 
national  capital  than  the  improvement  of  the  air  we  breathe  and  the  water  we 
drink,  and  in  this  Mr.  Macfarland.  as  a  private  citizen  and  later  as  President 
of  the  Board  of  C"omnnssioners,  has  taken  a  very  important  part.  Indeed  in 
most  of  tlie  acti\ities  mentioned  by  him.  .Mr.  .Macfarland  was  one  of  the  lead- 
mg  .spirns  and  s(j  was  Mr  Charles  Moore.  Secretary  of  the  Senate  Committee 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

on  the  District  of  Columbia,  anil  now  chairiuaii  of  the  Fine  Arts  Commission 
and  a  host  of  others  who  are  present  tonight. 

In  reference  to  my  humanitarian  activities  in  the  city  of  Washington,  which 
have  been  so  appreciatively  dwelt  upon  by  Professor  Wiley  and  Mr.  Mac- 
farland,  I  cannot  help  but  feel  that  1  would  not  have  been  a  worthy  citizen 
had  I  failed  to  do  otherwise. 

I  owe  all  I  possess  to  my  adopted  country.  I  began  and  I  completed  my 
medical  education  while  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  and  began  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  in  the  army,  and  within  15  years  by  a  simple  life  and  rigid 
economy  accumulated  a  modest  competency,  the  income*  of  which  I  deemed 
quite  sufficient  for  a  man  of  my  frugal  habits,  and  I  concluded  therefore 
that  I  must  quit  making  money  and  devote  my  entire  time  to  teaching  and 
work  connected  with  public  health  and  social  and  industrial  betterment.  If 
in  the  meantime  my  investments  have  yielded  greater  returns  and  enabled 
me  to  enlarge  the  scope  of  my  usefulness,  I  owe  it  to  the  good  management 
of  a  former  grateful  cowboy  patient,  and  see  in  him  and  in  my  numerous 
friends  both  in  and  out  of  the  profession,  the  rewards  of  an  overruling" 
Providence. 

If  I  have  been  able  to  accomplish  something  for  the  welfare  of  my  fellow 
man  it  is  due  to  the  hearty  co-operation  of  my  co-workers,  many  of  whom 
are  present  tonight,  while  others  have  gone  to  their  long  home.  You  have 
indeed  brightened  the  evening  of  my  life  by  the  numerous  evidences  of  good 
will  and  esteem.  For  the  kind  thoughts  of  those  who  organized  this  cele- 
bration and  for  the  kind  words  spoken  and  for  the  presence  of  all  my  good 
friends  I  feel  truly  grateful.  Of  all  honors  which  have  come  to  me,  none 
are  more  appreciated  than  the  approval  of  my  conduct  by  my  friends  and 
co-workers. 


276 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

During  the  course  of  the  dinner  the  following  poem  and  other  tributes 
were  read. 

Soldier,  Scientist,  Physician  and  Philanthropist,  on  His  Sci'enticth  Birthday, 

March  28,  1920. 

S.  Adolphus  Knopf,  jM.D. 

Your  cradle  stood  on  foreign  soil, 

Bnt  love  of  liberty  ii^as  your  inheritance;  \ 

Your  father  zvas  of  those  zcho  suffered  long 

Fronii  persecution  and  tyranny. 

He  voived  that  you  shoidd  nez'er  be 

The  simple  minion  of  a  lord  of  war, 

Bowing  to  king  and  potentate; 

But  if  a  soldier  you  should  z\.nsh  to  be 

You  then  sJiould  sen'c  in  freedom's  holy  cause. 

So  you  came  here  and  cordial  greeting  found, 

For  men  like  you  Columbia  gladly  welcomes 

And  you  repaid  her  well. 

You  served  her  first  as  humble  helper 

To  sick  and  wounded  heroes  of  the  war. 

A  faithful  student  of  our  noble  art  you  next  became 

And  soon  attained  a  niagister's  degree. 

As  soldier  and  physician  you  combined 

True  bravery  with  sympathy  of  heart,  and  thus 

Became  the  friend  of  many  a  suffering  soul. 

And  when  to  former  comrades  in  the  field  you  bade  aiheu 

All  said  "Well  done,  God  speed  you  on  your  way." 
A  life  of  great  dez'oiion  then  began, 
To  civic  zvelfare,  art  and  science  given; 
Your  earnest  studies  fitted  you  to  teach 
To  show  the  younger  men  what  hygiene  means. 
And  throve  prez'Oition  of  disease  surpasses  cure. 
By  your  endeavors,  plagues  and  water-borne  disease 
Were  banished  from  zcithiit  your  city  fair; 

277 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

]'oii  found  the  rcaso)i  zcJiy  so  many  died 

Of  that  disease  of  all  diseases; 

And  better  housinc/  of  the  poor  became  your  passion. 

Noiv  sanitary  homes  for  blaek  and  i^'Jiite 

Arose  where  once  zcas  wilderness. 

Next  to  housing  of  the  laboring  men 

You  studied  hozv  to  make  his  occupation  safe 

And  thus  prei'ent  disease  among  the  workers. 

So  manifold  your  triumphs  zuere 

In  battling  zcith  disease  and  death, 

In  this  small  space  I  cannot  count  them  all. 

And  in  your  modesty  you  zcill  not  tell 

What  greater  things  you  did  for  God  and  man. 

Throughout  your  long  and  earnest  life 

Your  greatest  joy  has  been  to  work, 

But  never  for  yourself.     To  serve, 

To  help  zchererer  there  z^^'tis  greatest  need 

Was  your  ideal,  the  motive  of  your  life. 

So  then  be  thanked  on  this  your  honor  day, 

For  inspiration  and  example  you.hai'e  given 

To  pupils  and  to  friends, 

For  countless  deeds  of  mercy  ami  of  good 

You  gave  to  others. 

Nozi'  may  reward  of  peace  and  happiness 

Be  yours  for  many  years  to  come 

And  may  no  cloud  of  sorrozv  cast  a  shadozv 

On  the  evening  of  your  life. 

From  the  Sisters  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis. 

These  tlowers  express  in  a  slight  degree  only  the  luve  and  affection  of  the 
Sisters  in  charge  of  tjie  Georgetown  Uni\ersity  Hospital  for  George  M.  Kober, 
M.D.,  LL.D.,  for  his  great  kindness  to  them  so  checrfnlly  given  at  all  times 
since  Ihe  organization  of  the  Hospital. 

278 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

Dr.  C.  JV.  Richardson: 

Had  fully  expected  to  be  present  at  the  dinner  in  honor  of  Doctor  Kober 
tonight,  but  am  prevented.  Please  extend  my  congratulations  to  Dr.  Kober. 
It  is  very  fitting  that  his  high-minded  professional  success  and  his  unselfish 
life  should  be  honored  by  this  testimonial  dinner. 

L.  F.  Barker.      (Baltimore.) 

George  M.  Kober,  care  Dr.  Richardson  at  Raiischer's,  JVashiiigfoii,  D.  C: 

Accept  my  heartiest  congratulations  on  your  seventieth  birthday ;  may  you 
live  long  and  continue  your  splendid  humanitarian  work  for  which  you  are 
so  greatly  respected  and  admired. 

S.  J.   Meltzer.      (New  York.) 

Dr.  George  M.  Kober: 

Have  been  looking  forward  to  being  present  at  dinner  in  your  honor  tonight 
l)ut  find  myself  unavoidably  detained  by  important  business  in  New  York. 
Greatly  disappointed  and  send  my  warmest  congratulations  and  best  wishes  for 
manv  more  years  of  the  same  kind  of  usefulness  you  have  given  in  the  past. 

Livingston  F-vrrano.      (American  Red  Cross.) 

/)/-.  Charles  W .  Richardson: 

Affectionate  greetings  to  Dr.  Kober.  Sorry  impossible  for  me  to  leave 
!]ome  and  attend  dinner  in  Dr.  Kober's  honor  which  I  would  rather  join  in 
than  any  other  celel)ration  I  can  think  of. 

Charle.s  William  White.      (Pittsburgh.) 

And  how  will  the  "Kiddie"  feel  on  his  birthday  next  Sunday?  Well  and 
contented  in  mind  and  body  I  hope.  It  is  ]ileasant  to  grow  old  as  I  know 
full  well.  Mav  the  coming  years  l>e  as  fruitful  in  friends  and  achievements  as 
the  last  have  been. 

W.  W.  Keen.      (  Philadelphia.) 

Dear  Doctor  Richardson: 

The  annoiuicement  of  the  dinner  to  be  gi\en  to  Dr.  Kober  has  just  been 
leceived.  1  should  be  only  too  delighted  if  it  were  possible  for  me  to  attenil, 
but  I  am  sure  that  this  is  out  of  the  (juestion.  Will  yon  not  express  to  Dr. 
Kober  my  sincere  regrets  and  mv  great  adnn'ration  iny  his  untiring  interest 

:;7i) 


A  N  N  I  V  E  R  S  .V  R  Y     TRIBUTE. 

in  and  devotion  to  all  activities  and  measures  designed  to  promote  the  advance- 
men  of  medicine  and  public  health. 

\\'ith  many  regrets  that  1  cannot  attend  the  dinner.  I  am 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Herman  ]M.  Biggs. 

Dear  Dr.  Richardson: 

I  have  been  hoping  to  be  able  to  attend  the  complimentary  dinner  to  be 
given  to  Dr.  George  M.  Kober  on  his  seventieth  birthday  by  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  other  scientific  and  civic  organizations 
on  March  27th.  but  find  that  owing  to  circumstances  over  which  I  have  no 
control,  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  be  present. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  be  in  a  position  to  number  Dr.  Kober  among 
mv  valued  friends.  I  have  long  felt  that  he  belongs  to  a  small  group  of 
lofty  idealists — men  who  have  a  vision  and  consistently  and  persistently  pur- 
sue that  vision.  Such  men  who  we  dare  to  call  our  professional  brethren 
deserve  our  gratitude  for  the  inspiration  experienced  through  their  example. 
It  is  not  so  much  perhaps  the  result  of  their  intellectual  power  as  their  elevat- 
ing and  stimulating  influence,  which  gives  us  a  higher  and  in  every  way, 
superior  perspective  of  life. 

How  cheerfully  I  should  sIkjw  my  appreciation  of  Dr.  Kober's  long  and 
useful  life  by  indicating  my  presence  at  the  ban(|uet,  if  this  were  possible. 
Please  pardon  the  liberty  I  have  taken  to  express  my  feeble  tribute  to  a 
real  hero  and  ornament  of  our  noble  profession. 

J.  M.  A'nders.      (Philadelphia.) 

My  dear  Rr.  Richardson : 

Dr.  George  M.  Kober  has  done  so  much  to  advance  medicine  and  the  intei- 
ests  of  the  medical  profession  in  this  country  that  I  should  be  most  happy  to 
join  in  a  complimentary  dinner  to  him  on  the  occasion  of  his  seventieth 
birthday.  Unfortunately,  it  will  not  be  possible  for  me  to  leave  Philadelphia 
on  March  27th.  I  trust  you  will  be  good  enough  to  extend  to  Dr.  Kober  my 
best  wishes  for  many  more  years  of  health  and  happiness.  As  long  as  the 
world  is  interested  in  industrial  medicine  and  occupational  diseases,  Dr. 
Kober's  work  in  that  field  will  keep  his  name  alive. 

David  Riesman.      (Philadelphia.) 

2ii0 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

My  dear  Dr.  Richardson: 

I  am  very  sorry  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  participate  in  the  dinner  to  be 
given  to  Dr.  Kober  on  the  seventieth  anniversary  of  his  birthday.  I  have 
known  him  and  esteemed  him  highly  for  a  long  time.  We  were  together  on 
the  Counsel  of  the  Association  of  American  Physicians  for  a  good  many 
years, — he  as  Secretary  and  I  as  Treasurer.  My  congratulations  go  with 
this,  even  though  I  cannot  be  present. 

L.  P.  Crozier  Griffith.      (Riiladelphia.) 

My  dear  Dr.  Richardson: 

Your  invitation  to  the  complimentary  dinner  to  be  tendered  to  Dr.  George 
M.  Kober  in  commemoration  of  his  seventieth  birthday,  on  March  2"/,  1920, 
was  received  during  my  absence  and  was  handed  to  me  on  my  return  to  the 
city  a  day  or  so  ago. 

I  am  very  sorry  indeed  that  it  will  not  l>e  possible  for  me  to  be  with  vou 
on  what  should  be  a  very  memorable  evening.  Dr.  Kober's  services  to  indus- 
trial hygiene  and  the  advancement  of  public  health  in  the  United  States  cover- 
ing many  years  of  tremendous  activities  have  left  lasting  results  which  are 
almost  incalculable  in  value.  It  is  a  delight  to  us  who  have  known  him  many 
years  to  realize  that  he  is  still  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  best  of  health,  and  that 
we  may  have  a  continuation  of  his  admirable  services  for  many  years  to  come. 

I  hope  on  an  early  occasion  to  have  the  opportunity  of  extending  my  con- 
gratulations to  Dr.  Kober  in  person.  Should  this  however  not  occur  prior 
to  the  time  of  the  dinner,  may  I  ask  you  to  extend  to  him  for  me  the  good 
wishes  of  all  his  colleagues  who  really  have  no  fitting  way  of  expressing  their 
admiration  for  him  and  for  the  splendid  services  which  he  has  rendered. 
Lee  K.  Frankel.      (Metropolitan  Life  Insurance  Co.) 

Dear  Dr.  Richardson: 

I  am  exceedingly  sorry  but  I  shall  not  be  able  to  get  to  Washington  for 
the  (Hnner  to  be  given  in  honor  of  Dr.  Kober.  I  would  be  glad  to  give  proof 
of  my  personal  friendship  for  Dr.  Koj)er  and  my  admiration  of  his  unselfish 
devotion  and  intelligent  work  for  the  good  of  humanity.  L'nfortunatelv.  I 
cannot  get  away  from  Xew  York  at  that  time.  Please  expres.s  my  deep  regret 
to  Dr.  Kober  as  well  as  to  your  committee. 

Sincerely  yours, 

J.  M.  Glenn, 
Russel)  Sage  Foundation,  New  York. 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE. 

Dear  Doctor  Kobcr:    ' 

It  is  with  sincere  regret  that  1  find  (owing-  to  a  coriza  cold)  thai  1  sliall  not 
be  able  to  l)e  present  at  the  banquet  given  in  your  honor  this  evening. 

Through  all  the  years  that  I  have  known  and  been  associated  w'ith  you  in 
various  scientific  activities  in  Washington.  I  have  always  had  the  greatest 
regard  for  vour  continuity  i)f  purpose,  sincerity,  and  self-al)negation  if  only 
the  result  desired  could  be  secured. 

J  trust  that  the  inspiration  of  the  banquet  will  act  as  a  compelling  force 
to  sustain  you  in  your  good  work  for  a  decade  to  come,  and  thai  ten  years 
from  now  your  friends  may  ]ia\-e  the  opportunity  of  again  paying  their 
tribute  of  friendship,  respect  and  admiration. 

Sincerely  yours, 
Charles  D.  Walcott, 

Secretarv  Smithsonian  Institution. 


Army  Medical  School. 
Washington,  D.  C,  April  12th,  1920. 

Rev.  Francis  A.  Tondorf.  S.J.,  Editor  Koljer  Anniversary  Tribute, 
(ieorgetown  University, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

My  Dear  Sir: 

Answering  your  note  of  April  loth,  I  may  say  that  Dr.  Kober  is  one  of 
my  old  friends  for  whom  I  have  a  great  admiration.  I  am  glad'  that  in  his 
youth,  when  he  came  to  the  United  States,  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
Army  knew  a  good  man  when  they  saw  one  and  therefore  were  of  assistance 
in  starting  Dr.  Kober  on  his  long  and  honorable  career.  I  was  associated  in 
1911  and  1912  with  Dr.  Kober  in  the  organization  of  the  Congress  of  Hygiene 
and  Demography  which  met  in  this  city — rather  an  historic  occasion  as  it  was 
the  last  of  many  of  these  important  international  congresses,  and  it  seems 
very  unlikely,  in  view  of  the  world  disturbance,  that  others  of  the  same  nature 
will  be  held  for  many  years.  Dr.  Kober  w'as  the  President  of  one  of  the  most 
important  sections  of  that  Congress  and  performed  his  important  functions 
with  distinguished  credit  to  himself  and  American  medical  science. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Walter  D.  McCaw. 
Brigadier-General.  A.sst.  Surgeon  General,  U.  S.  Army. 

282 


ANNIVERSARY     TRIBUTE 


lEBER  Onkcl'.—Hochcrfrcut, 
Gvatulicrcn  i^'ir  Dir  hciit, 
Jl'ir  siiid  hicr  im  Gcisfc  nah 
Bci  Dir  in  Aincrika 
Und  dcr  trautc  Muttcrlaiit 
Griisst  Dick  licitt  als  siissc  Brant. 
Wo  ZL'ir  Dciner  Jngcnd  dcnkcn 
Und  das  Deutsche  Here  Dir  sclienken. 
Wo  dein  Wieyenfest  erschienen 
Wollcn  zcir  Dick  froli  hcdicncn.  , 

Weil  Du  schon  von  Jngcnd  an 
■  Vielen  Menschcn  wohlyetan. 
Dnrcli  Dein'n  Gcist  und  ticfcs  ll'isscn 
Legcn  zcir  zn  Dcincn  Fiisscn 
In  dcni  schlichtcn  Doktorklcide 
Unsern  Ehrcnkranz  niit  Frcndc. 
Heutc  dankcn — fansemi  Briider 
Allc  freudig. — hoch  und  nicdcr 
Doss  in  Ndchstodieh  bcdissoi 
Du  sie  hast  dcni  Tod  cntrissen 
Feind  vom  Streit  und  I'dllcrei, 
I  'on  der  Menschheit  Tyrannei 
Hast  Du  edles  Blut  geschaifen 
Dnrch  des  Geistes  Sieg  und  Waff  en. 
Denn  gar  bald  zcird  es  anf  Erden 
Einigkeit  und  Frieden  werden,  — 
Alle  miissen  i>^ir  bekennen 
Dass  sie  Dich  als  Heifer  nennen, 
Der  so  z-iele  hat  frei  ge  mac  lit 
Von  der  Sii)uie,  East  und  Schinach. 
Heutc  bist  Dn  siebcig  Jahr 
Hoch  gcchrt  als  Jubilar, 
Alt  gczvordcn  niit  I'ergiiiigoi, 
Denn  Gesundheit  muss  doch  siegen 
Die  der  Herr  Dir  hut  beschieden. 
Leb  dariDn  >ioch  king  in  Frieden 
Wie  seithcr  fiir  Mcnschcnieohl 
Inimcr  gut  uiul  liebcvoll. 

H  EL  WIG    KOBKR. 
283 


A  VINDICATION  OF 
VIVISECTION 


A  COURSE  OF   LECTURES  ON  ANIMAL 
EXPERIMENTATION 


BY  MEN  OF  THE  HIGHEST  AUTHORITY  IN  THE  MEDICAL 
AND  OTHER  PROFESSIONS 


GIVEN  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  OF  THE  GEORGETOWN  UNIVERSITY 

SCHOOL  OF  MEDICINE  IN  GASTON  HALL  OF  GEORGETOWN 

UNIVERSITY.  MARCH  28  TO  MAY  16,  1920 


FRANCIS  A.  TONDORF.  S.  J..  PH.  D. 


WASHINGTON.  D   C. 
1920 


PREFACE. 

To  see  life  steadily  and  to  see  it  whole  is  the  serious  duty  of  every 
true  philosopher.  And,*after  all,  what  is  philosophy  save  unadulterated 
common  sense  amplified  and  systematized.  Hence  your  real  sensible 
man  will  approach  the  subject  of  animal  experimentation  dispassion- 
ately and  weig:h  it  in  its  ])roper  relation  to  the  good  of  the  human  race. 
Let  hiiu  disregard  these  prime  postulates  of  sound  reason  and  he  is 
headed  straight  for  unbalanced  sentimentality  and  irrational  hvsteria. 

The  stereotyped  arguments  advanced  against  the  practice  of  animal 
experimentation  are  two,  to  wit,  brutality  and  total  lack-  of  demonstrable 
and  tangible  results  as  might  warrant  the  physical  pain  occasioned 
following  the  most  clever  scientifically  regulated  methods  of  vivisection. 
It  is  the  modest  purpose  of  this  brochure  to  make  available  for  the 
general  jniblic  a  discussion  of  such  accusations  and  the  pertinent 
resj^onses  made  by  experienced  research  workers  in  a  series  of  public 
lectures  given  under  the  auspices  of  the  Georgetown  University  School 
of  Medicine  in  Gaston  Hall  of  the  Georgetown  University  from  March 
28  to  ^lay  IBth  of  the  year  nineteen  hundred  and  twenty. 

To  profit  by  the  content  of  these  pages  the  reader  nuist  divest 
himself  of  every  prejudice  or  partisanship  and  focus  his  attention  not 
on  feeling  but  on  the  issue.  He  must  recall  that  our  cynophile  friends 
are  persistently  dogmatizing  that  this  is  a  moral  question  and  then 
evaluate  our  ethical  arguments  against  theirs.  He  must  learn  that 
their  ])ervertecl  commentary  of  the  text  which  tells  of  the  findings  of 
medical  researches  envolving  animal  experimentation  belies  the  original. 
He  must  read  into  this  text  the  salus  populi,  the  lex  su]:)rema.  Then 
may  we  look  for  a  fair  judgment. 

Fr.xncis  a.  ToNDOkF,  S.  J.,  Ph.  D.,  Editor, 

Head  of  the  Department  of  Physiology. 

Cieargetoicn  L'nizri\';ity  School  of  Medicine. 

|une  ;!()th,   l!>-.M). 


289 

A  VIXDICATIOX   OF  AXLMAL   EXPERIMEXTATIOX. 

Based  upon  the  7cork  of  the  Rockefeller  Institute  for  Medical  Research 

in  Neiv  York. 

By 

Si.Mox  Flexxer,  Director,  'SI.  D.,  Sc.  D..  LL.  D. 

Xote  of  the  Editor. — The  favor  and  enthusiasm  with  which  the  lectures  of 
this  symposium  were  generally  received  by  our  audiences  have  prompted  us  to 
extend  them  to  a  larger  public.  The  introductory  dissertation  by  Dr.  Simon 
Flexner,  head  of  the  Rockefeller  Institute  for  Medical  Research  of  Xew  York 
City,  was  not  delivered  from  manuscript,  and,  unfortunately,  no  complete  steno- 
graphic report  was  made.  The  Doctor  left  unexpectedly  for  Europe  as  American 
delegate  to  the  International  Convention  of  the  Red  Cross,  and  so  even  his 
notes  were  not  available.  This  digest  was  assembled  from  notes  as  jotted  down 
for  their  own  use  by  University  students  in  attendance  upon  the  lecture,  sup- 
plemented by  references  to  Dr.  Flexner's  publications,  and  it  is  hoped  repre- 
sents the  more  noteworthy  items.  It  is  offered  with  every  apology  to  Dr. 
Flexner. 

The  Lecturer  after  thanking  the  Rector  of  the  University  for  his 
ccmpHnientary  reference  to  the  work  in  Preventive  ^ledicine  of  the 
Rockefeller  Institute  for  Medical  Research,  expressed  satisfaction 
that  the  creation  of  an  institution  for  the  study  of  medical  ])roblenis 
by  a  great  and  liberal  philanthroj^ist  had  placed  him  with  his  co-workers 
in  a  favorable  position  to  accom])lish  something  for  the  benefit  of 
mankind. 

The  lecturer  traced  the  development  of  medical  science  from  its 
earliest  ince])tion,  giving  an  account  of  the  methods  used  by  medical 
men  to  gain  knowledge  of  diseases  and  graphically  described  the  tran- 
sition from  an  empirical  to  a  rational  basis.  The  result  depending 
])rincii)ally  on  our  present-day  knowledge  of  physics,  biology  and 
chemistry.  He  declared  that  at  the  present  time  the  medical  profession 
is  better  eqtii])])ed  to  discharge  its  duties  to  mankind  than  ever  before, 
a  condition  largely  to  be  accredited  to  improved  methods  of  attacking 
medical  problems.  The  major  portion  of  advances  in  scientihc  medi- 
cine having  been  acconii)lished  within  the  i:)ast  fifty  years. 

Dr.  Flexner  exjjlained  why  the  public  should  be  informed  as  to  the 
work  and  methods  of  scientific  men  in  tlie  medical  profession,  and 
explained  the  reasons  for  using  animals  to  study  disease.  He  con- 
trasted the  methods  of  clinical  observation  at  the  bedside  of  the  jiatient 
with  the  present  method  of  study  by  isolation  of  the  causative  organ- 
ism, reproduction  of  the  disease  in  animals  and  study  of  it  there.  He 
lold  of  the  relative  ])rogress  of  medicine  in  the  last  fifty  years  as  com- 
])arcd  with  all  preceding  history.  He  declared  that  man's  employment 
of  his  inalienable  right  to  use  the  material  things  of  the  world  was 
re3))onsible  for  the  rai)i(l  strides  in  medicine,  and  ])ointed  out  that  in 
the  solution  vif  a  number  of   difficult  ])roblcms  the  scientific  medical 


290 

invcstii,'ation  in  the  LmuIccI  States  had  made  important  and  mo>t 
creditable  rontributions. 

Dr.  Flexner  expressed  keen  regret  that  an  effort  sliould  be  made 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  prohibit  experiments  upon 
living  dogs  in  th  District  of  Columbia  or  the  Territorial  or  insular  pos- 
sessions of  the  United  States  as  contemplated  by  S.  1"2.")8,  which  bill, 
if  enacted  into  a  law,  would  be  a  serious  blow  to  the  progress  of  scien- 
tific medicine,  as  much  of  our  physiological  knowledge  and  the  action 
of  drugs  is  based  upon  experiments  on  dogs,  and  for  some  experiments 
no  other  animals  can  be  substituted. 

Dr.  Flexner  deprecated  every  effort  to  restrict  this  line  of  re- 
search work,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  any  reputable  investigator  takes 
special  pains  to  j^revent  unnecessary  suffering  by  the  administration  of 
anesthetics  or  opiates,  and  the  prevention  of  cruelty  in  animals  is 
especially  well  safeguarded  by  laws  now  in  force  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  He  referred  to  diabetes,  a  disease  of  considerable  fre- 
((uency,  as  illustrating  the  value  of  experiments  on  dogs  in  promoting 
knowledge  of  this  important  disease  of  man,  and  also  in  contributing 
to  its  better  therapeutic  control  or  treatment. 

He  stated  until  the  crucial  experiments  by  two  German  physicians 
on  dogs  some  years  ago  the  cause  of  diabetes  was  unknown  The  Ger- 
man scientists  extirpated  the  pancreas  on  dogs  and  the  animals  so 
oj^erated  on  developed  rapidly  fatal  diabetes.  The  ]iractical  use  of 
this  knowledge  was  employed  by  Dr.  Allen  who  by  modifying  the 
operative  ])rocedure  ascertained  the  manner  in  which  to  induce  grades 
of  diabetes  closely  simulating  those  of  luan.  With  these  animals  he 
was  able  to  work  out  a  treatment  which  has  brightened  the  outlook  of 
the  diabetic  and  has  ])rolonged  the  life  of  these  individuals  enabling 
many  of  the  sufferers  to  attend  their  duties  and  vocations  over  long 
periods  of  time. 

These  exj^eriments  so  useful  to  man  have  been  made  on  dogs,  and 
no  other  animal  suffices  for  the  purpose.  This  work  was  begun  at  the 
Harvard  iVledical  School  and  completed  at  the  Rockefeller  Institute  for 
Medical  Research. 

Dr.  Flexner  stated  that  he  had  given  a  single  concrete  instance, 
but  the  instances  could  easily  be  multijilied,  through  which  the  benefi- 
cent use  of  the  results  of  experiments  on  animals  could  be  shown. 
He  declared  that  by  animal  experimentation  we  have  not  only  benefited 
man,  but  investigation  into  the  disease  of  animals  has  led  to  the  eradi- 
cation of  many  of  the  diseases  of  animals  with  incalculable  economic 
returns.  C)ur  knowledge  of  yellow  fever  would  probably  have  been 
delayed  for  many  years  if  the  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry 
of  the  United  States  on  Texas  fever  had  not  been  done. 

The  Lecturer  em])hasized  the  im])ortant  work  done  b\-  tlie  Federal 
Government  for  animal  industry,  all  of  which  involved  animal  experi- 
mentation, and  called  attention  to  the  Department  of  Animal  Pathology 


291 

of  the  Rockefeller  Institute,  established  a  few  years  ago  on  a  farm  of 
-too  or  oOO  acres,  near  Princeton,  N.  J.,  with  laboratories,  stables  and 
other  appurtenances,  and  a  highly  skilled  scientific  staft  installed  for 
the  intensive  study  of  diseases  of  animals  themselves.  Could  the  eco- 
nomic wastage  caused  by  disorders  of  cattle,  poultry,  etc.,  be  con- 
trolled or  reduced,  the  cost  of  living,  now  such  a  matter  of  serious  con- 
cern, would  be  materially  diminished.  In  addition  to  diseases  of  eco- 
nomic animals  we  have,  he  said,  a  real  interest  in  diseases  of  domestic 
animal  pets,  which  are  themselves  the  victims  of  many  severe  and  fatal 
diseases,  such  as  distemper  among  dogs.  The  study  of  this  disease 
by  the  experimental  method  is  not  only  indicated,  but  it  is  fair  to  say 
that  if  we  learn  to  control  distemper,  we  should  throw  new  light  on 
the  pneumonia  ])roblem ;  and  he  was  tempted  to  add  that  had  the 
lower  animals  the  power  of  voice,  they  might  well  ask  to  be  saved  from 
those  who  appear  to  be  their  friends. 

Contrasting  the  ancient  use  of  drugs  with  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  employed  at  the  present  time  he  showed  how  their  specific 
action  has  been  determined  by  the  employment  of  animals  for  experi- 
mental study. 

Beginning  with  a  tribute  to  the  pioneer  work  of  Pasteur,  Koch 
and  other  pioneer-research  workers,  the  lecturer  traced  the  various 
steps  in  the  development  of  the  great  branch  of  bacteriology  that  em- 
braces all  that  we  know  of  the  cause,  the  prevention  and  treatment  of 
all  infectious  diseases,  including  serums  and  vaccines,  and  ends  at  the 
present  time  with  the  researches  by  Noguchi  on  the  organism  of  yellow 
fever  As  an  instance  of  the  curative  powers  of  antitoxins  he  cited 
the  vast  reduction  in  mortality  following  the  employment  of  di])htheria 
antitoxin,  which  is  now  less  than  one  quarter  of  the  death  rate  before 
the  introduction  of  the  antitoxin. 


Cerebro-Spinal  Meningitis. 


Dr.  Flexner  said  he  had  been  asked  to  say  a  few  words  about  the 
benefits  of  animal  experimentation  in  relation  to  epidemic  cerebro- 
sjjinal  meningitis.  This  disease,  also  known  as  cerebro-spinal  fever  and 
spotted  fever,  was  described  as  early  as  1X0.")  and  has  a])]ieared  in  epi- 
demic form  at  various  intervals  in  Europe,  in  the  United  States  and 
other  ])arts  of  the  globe.  Hirsch  distributes  the  epidemic  occurrence 
of  this  disease  through  four  ])eriods,  namely,  IHOa-lSlJO,  l.SOT-lSoO. 
1854-187.*),  ]8T()  to  date.  In  the  first  period  it  appeared  in  isolated 
ei)idcmics  in  Europe  and  to  a  much  greater  extent  in  the  United  States. 
After  its  ])rimary  appearance  in  Massachusetts  in  18()G,  according  to 
some  e])idemologists,  it  continued  throughout  New  England  in  various 
localities  for  the  next  ten  years.     During  the  second  period  widespread 


292 

ejiidemics  occurred  in  France,  Italy,  Algeria,  Denmark  and  the  United 
States;  during  the  third  period  it  prevailed  in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa, 
South  America  and  the  United  States.  During  the  last  period  it  has 
been  specially  marked  in  Germany,  Italy  and  the  United  States.  The 
disease  prevailed  in  an  epidemic  form  in  1!)()4  and  continued  to  be 
more  or  less  active  until  1!)10;  since  then,  although  less  active,  it  has 
not  entirely  disapi)eared  and  became  again  active  during  the  recent  war. 

The  organism  causing  this  disease,  thanks  to  animal  experimenta- 
tion, had  been  isolated  and  described  by  Weischselbaum  in  188T  under 
the  name  of  diplococcus  intracclliilaris  inciiiiigitidis,  and  although  per- 
fectly familiar  with  the  cause  and  nature  of  the  disease,  the  medical 
l)rofession  was  heljdess  in  the  way  of  treating  this  acute  infectious  dis- 
ease quite  fatal  in  its  tendency. 

Dr.  Flexner  in  li)()4  during  the  e]Mdemic  along  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board and  from  there  inland,  studied  the  disease  at  the  Rockefeller 
Institute  and  ])roved  by  inoculation  experiments  that  it  was  communi- 
cable to  animals.  This  was  an  enormous  step  forward,  for  it  gave 
him  a  basis  for  the  hope  of  being  able  to  treat  the  disease  successfully 
by  means  of  immunized  serum.  The  work  was  done  on  monkeys,  and 
subsequent  experimentation  proved  that  not  only  could  the  disease  be 
reproduced  in  these  animals,  but  also  successfully  treated  with  immune 
serum.  Later  this  treatment  was  and  is  now  being  used  in  the  treat- 
ment of  cerebro-s])inal  meningitis  in  man.  Dr.  Flexner  said  that  25 
monkeys  had  been  used  in  this  work.  (It  has  been  estimated  by 
Professor  Welsh  and  other  competent  critics  that  before  this  method 
of  serum  treatment  was  employed,  out  of  every  one  hundred  patients 
seventy-five  died,  while  under  the  serum  treatment  the  mortality  has 
been  reduced  from  seventy-five  to  twenty-five  per  cent.  It  is  not  gen- 
erally known  that  this  demonstration  based  upon  animal  experimenta- 
tion is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  contributions  ever  made 
to  scientific  medicine  and  has  secured  for  Dr.  Flexner,  the  Rockefeller 
Institute  and  American  medicine  a  place  of  honor  in  the  medical  world. 
—Editor.) 

Poliomyelitis. 

Dr.  Flexner  recalled  the  work  of  the  Rockefeller  Institute  with 
reference  to  the  etiology  and  pathology  of  poliomyelitis,  popularly 
known  as  infantile  paralysis,  and  explained  how  they  had  been  able  to 
transmit  the  disease  from  monkey  to  monkey  through  the  secretions  of 
the  nasal-pharyngeal  mucous  membrane  and  thus  secured  important 
information  as  to  the  mode  of  transmitting  the  disease  He  said  in 
part :  In  the  United  States  we  are  becoming  increasingly  familiar  with 
epidemics  of  poliomyelitis.  Prior  to  1907  infantile  ])aralysis  was  a 
rare  disease  in  this  country  ;  since  then  it  has  prevailed  fitfully  every 


293 

summer  and  autumn,  and  in  one  notable  instance  at  least  also  in  the 
•svinter  season,  claiming  victims  by  the  score  or  hundred,  until  in  1916 
an  outbreak  of  unprecedented  severity,  with  its  center  of  violence  in 
New  York  State,  swept  over  a  considerable  number  of  States.  Our 
knowledge  of  poliomyelitis  has  grown  since  Wickman's  epochal  clinical 
studies  published  in  190T.  Thanks  to  animal  experimentation  we  are 
in  possession  of  precise  information  covering  essential  data  with  regard 
to  the  nature  of  the  inciting  microorganism,  notwithstanding  its  very 
minute  size,  and  also  concerning  the  manner  in  which  it  leaves  the 
infected  or  contaminated  body  within  the  secretions  of  the  nasopharynx 
chiefly,  and  gains  access  to  another  human  being  by  means  of  the  corre- 
sponding mucous  membranes  and  apparently  in  no  other  way.  More- 
over, the  inciting  virus,  so  called,  up  to  the  present  time  and  notwith- 
standing many  and  assiduous  efforts,  has  not  been  detected  apart  from 
the  infected  or  merely  contaminated  human  being,  and  there  is  there- 
fore no  foundation  in  ascertained  fact  for  an  assumption  that  the 
virus  is  conveyed  to  persons  otherwise  than  by  other  persons  who 
harbor  it. 


Control  of  Yellow  Fever  Epidemics. 

As  an  example  of  the  manner  in  which  an  epidemic  disease  may 
be  eradicated  he  briefly  related  the  history  of  the  conquest  of  yellow 
fever  and  expressed  his  satisfaction  that  the  causal  organism  had  been 
discovered  before  the  complete  disappearance  of  the  scourge.  If  so,  it 
will  be  the  first  disease  to  so  disappear  since  recorded  history. 

We  no  longer  fear  yellow  fever  in  New  York,  Philadelphia  and 
other  Northern  districts  of  the  United  States  in  which  formerly  it 
was  a  serious  pest,  claiming  victims  by  the  thousands.  We  are  now 
sufficiently  informed  of  the  conditions  of  its  origin  and  spread  to  main- 
tain effective  safeguards.  The  everthreatening  hotbeds  of  yellow 
fever  at  Havana  and  in  Brazil  are  now  under  control,  and  can  be 
kept  so  if  we  do  not  relax  our  vigilance. 

Prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  yellow  fever  was  a 
peril  because  no  oiie  knew  the  exact  conditions  favoring  its  spread. 
In  1900  a  commission  of  officers  from  the  United  States  Army,  headed 
by  Dr.  Walter  Reed,  with  Drs.  James  Carroll,  Jesse  W^  Lazear  and 
Aristides  .\gramonte  went  to  Havana  where  the  fever  flourished,  and 
made  a  series  of  studies  and  catue  to  the  conclusion  that  there  must 
be  a  living  organism  in  the  blood  of  yellow-fever  j^atients  in  the  early 
days  of  the  disease.  They  found  that  a  nios(|uilo  could  act  as  inter- 
mediary in  conveying  the  disease.  They  did  not  spare  themselves,  and 
following  the  bite  of  a  ])ur])osely  infected  mosf|uito,  Carroll  became 
ill  of  yellow  fever,  while  Lazear  died  after  a  short  illness.  Reed  died 
in    lIM)-i,  and  his  memory  li\es  in  the  great  Walter  Reed   Hospital  at 


Washington.  From  this  knowledge  of  the  mosquito  as  a  carrier  of 
yellow  fever  it  became  clear  that  the  way  to  i:)revent  the  s])rea(l  of  the 
disease  was  either  by  kee])ing  the  mosquito  from  patients  in  the  early 
stages  of  their  illness  through  proper  screening  of  windows  and  doors, 
or  by  killing  and  destroying  their  breeding  places.  All  these  measures 
were  applied  in  Havana  by  General  Gorgas.  They  have  since  been 
practiced  in  New  Orleans,  Vera  Cruz  and  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

In  the  Southern  States,  how^ever,  while  the  old,  aimless  and  largely 
futile  struggles  against  the  disease  when  once  it  had  gained  a  foothold 
can  never  come  again,  there  is  always  the  liability  of  costly  and  increas- 
ing local  outbreaks  so  long  as  permanent  nests  of  the  disease  exist  in 
countries  with  which  direct  social  or  economic  intercourse  is  main- 
tained. The  everthreatening  hotbeds  of  yellow  fever  at  Havana  and 
m  Brazil  are  now  in  control  and  can  be  kept  so  at  the  price  of  intelligent 
and  unremitting  vigilance.  But  here  and  there  in  ]\Iexico  and  South 
America  and  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa  it  still  lurks  unguarded.  It  is 
the  aim  of  the  International  Health  Board  of  the  Rockefeller  Founda- 
tion to  discover  and  clean  up  the  remaining  lurking  places  for  germs 
of  this  disease,  along  the  lines  already  inaugurated  in  the  fight  against 
hookworm  and  the  eradication  of  malaria  in  different  parts  of  the  globe. 
At  the  request  about  a  year  and  a  half  ago  from  Ecuador  for  counsel 
and  assistance  in  solving  the  problems  of  yellow  fever  at  Guayaquil,  the 
Rockefeller  Foundation  and  the  Rockefeller  Institute  cheerfully  sent 
General  Gorgas  and  his  associates  of  the  International  Health  Board  to 
study  conditions  in  that  country.  The  Commission  was  accompanied 
by  Dr.  Hideyo  Noguchi,  the  accomplished  Japanese  bacteriologist,  on 
the  stalT  of  the  Rockefeller  Institute  for  ]\Iedical  Research  Dr.  No- 
guchi apart  from  his  command  of  cultural  technique  and  great  patience 
was  also  well  acquainted  with  a  disease  called  infectious  jaundice, 
which  resembles  yellow  fever.  It  is  one  of  the  diseases  whose  origin 
has  only  recently  been  traced.  The  inciting  germ,  called  Leptospira, 
is  a  spiral  motile  organism,  parasitic  in  rats  and  other  animals.  In 
insanitary  places  frequented  by  these  animals  it  may  gain  access  to  the 
bodies  of  humans  and  incite  serious  and  fatal  disease.  Noguchi  suc- 
ceeded in  inducing  in  guinea  pigs  by  transference  of  a  small  quantity 
of  the  blood  of  yellow-fever  patients,  symptoms  comparable  with  yel- 
low fever  in  the  human  race.  The  blood  of  these  experimental  ani- 
mals, when  conveyed  to  other  guinea  pigs,  produced  the  same  disease, 
and  in  this  infected  guinea  pig  blood,  a  minute  organism  resembling 
the  Leptospira  of  infectious  jaundice  was  detected.  Young  dogs  and 
monkeys  were  also  found  to  be  susceptible  to  inoculation  with  yellow 
fever  blood. 

Noguchi  also  succeeded  in  cultivating  from  the  ])lood  at  first  of 
his  artificially  infected  pigs  and  then  of  man  a  living  organism  which 
he  carried  through  many  successive  generations  in  his  culture  tubes, 
and  from  which  by  inoculation  he  could  induce  the  identical  fatal  dis- 


29o 

ease  in  the  guinea  pig.  Xoguchi  called  this  germ  "Leptospira  ictc- 
roides."  \\'ork  is  now  being  carried  on  by  animal  experimentation 
for  the  solution  of  unsolved  problems,  including  the  perfection  of  a 
suitable  serum  for  this  disease.  It  is  hoped  this  work  will  be  entirely 
successful  and  prove  a  blessing  to  mankind. 


Control  and  Management  of  Other  Epidemic  Diseases. 

On  this  important  topic  Dr.  Flexner  reviewed  our  knowledge  of 
epidemic  diseases  and  the  practical  hygienic  measures,  based  on  this 
knowledge,  which  have  heretofore  been  applied,  or  which  in  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  events  may  be  applied  with  a  reasonable  hope  of  pre- 
venting the  spread  of  these  epidemics.  The  Lecturer  expressed  the 
hope  that  by  a  carefvil  review  of  what  has  been  accomplisliecl  in  the 
past  we  may  form  a  judgment  of  the  efficiency  of  such  measures  and 
arrive  possibly  at  new  points  of  view  from  which  to  launch  a  more 
decisive  attack.  ( Dr.  Flexner  is  evidently  a  stanch  advocate  of  the 
doctrine  that  disease  germs  have  their  origin  somewhere,  and  scientific 
medicine  demands  that  all  epideniics  must  be  traced  backward  to  their 
starting  ])oint,  and  when  found  the  original  seedbeds  must  be  stam])ed 
out.  In  supjjort  of  this  doctrine,  which  is  now  practically  applied  by 
the  International  Health  Board  of  the  Rockefeller  Foundation,  he 
spoke  in  part  as  follows: — Editor.) 

Regarding  epidemic  diseases  in  general  we  assume  the  introduc- 
tion from  without,  and  usually  from  a  distant  locality  of  a  special 
kind  of  organism  which  is  held  directly  resj^onsible  for  the  e])idemic 
ensuing.  In  the  case  of  influenza  wide  divergences  of  oi:)inion  re- 
garding the  nature  of  the  inciting  microorganisms  and  the  manner  of 
infection  still  ])revail.  The  reason  for  these  difYerences  are  several, 
but  the  most  imjjortant  perhaps  relates  to  the  common  observation  of 
the  manner  of  s])read  or  attack  of  the  disease.  While  other  epidemics 
proceed  from  bad  to  worse,  with  at  least  progressive  increases  of  in- 
tensity, influenza  seems  to  overwhelm  communities  over  even  wide 
stretches  of  territory  as  by  a  single  stupendous  blow.  While  in  the 
one  case  the  gradually  accelerating  rate  of  speed  of  extension  may 
be  taken  to  indicate  personal  conveyance  of  the  provoking  microrgan- 
ism ;  in  the  other  case,  the  sudden  wide  onset  ajipears  to  be  the 
very  negation  of  personal  comnnmication. 

Hence  the  invoking  of  mysterious  influences,  the  revival  of  tlv 
notion  of  miasm  and  similar  agencies,  to  account  for  this  phenomenon, 
indeed,  the  pul)lic  mind  in  general  lends  itself  readily  to  such  formless 
conce])ts,  for  the  reason  that  there  still  resides  in  the  mass  of  the 
people  a  large  uneradicated  residue  of  superstition  regarding  disease. 
One  does  not  need  to  look  far  or  to  dig  deej)  to  uncover  the  source  of 
this  superstition.     We  have  only  recently  emerged  from  n  jiast  in  which 


296 

knowledge  of  the  origin  of  disease  was  scant,  and  such  views  as  were 
commonly  held  and  exploited  were  mostly  fallacious.  It  is,  indeed, 
very  recently,  if  the  transformation  can  be  said  to  be  perfect  even 
now,  that  the  medical  profession  as  a  whole  has  been  completely 
emancipated.  All  this  is  very  far  from  being  a  matter  of  remote 
importance  only,  since  in  the  end  the  successful  imposition  of  sanitary 
regulations  involves  wide  cooperation,  and  until  the  majority  of  indi- 
viduals composing  a  community  is  brought  to  a  fair  level  of  under- 
standing of.  and  belief  in  the  measures  j)roposed,  serious  and  sustained 
endeavor  to  enforce  them  is  scarcely  to  be  expected. 


Influenza. 

No  better  instance  of  a  communicable  disease  could  perhaps  be 
invoked  than  influenza  to  exorcise  the  false  idea  of  the  mysterious 
origin  of  epidemics.  To  dwell  solely  on  the  sudden  and  overwhelming 
stroke  of  the  disease  is  to  wholly  overlook  the  'significant  incidents 
that  precede  the  mass  infection,  because  they  are  of  such  ordinary 
nature  and  lack  the  dramatic  quality.  Accurate  observers  noted  long 
ago  that  influenza  in  its  epidemic  form  did  not  constitute  an  exception 
to  the  common  rule  regarding  epidemic  diseases,  which  are  obviously 
associated  with  persons  and  their  migrations.  What  the  early  stu- 
dents made  out  by  tracing  the  epidemic  backward  to  its  point  of  de- 
parture more  modern  observers  have  confirmed  by  carefully  kept  rec- 
ords, often  geographically  compiled,  as  in  the  excellent  instance  of  the 
Munich  records  covering  the  epidemic  of  1880-92,  which  can  now  be 
supplemented  by  a  number  of  similarly  constructed  records  of  the 
epidemic  just  j^assed.  These  records  show  convincingly  a  period  of 
invasion  during  which  there  is  a  gradual  rise  in  the  number  of  cases 
to  culminate,  within  a  period  variously  estimated  at  from  one  to  three 
weeks,  in  a  widespread,  so-called  '"explosive"  outbreak  of  the  disease. 
It  happens  that  the  early  cases  of  influenza  tend  not  to  be  severe, 
chiefly  because  they  are  rarely  attended  by  pneumonia  and  hence  are 
frequently  mistaken,  and  the  confusion  in  diagnosis  is  resolved  only 
when  the  full  intensity  of  the  epidemic  is  realized.  In  the  meantime 
rich  opportunity  has  been  afl:'orded  for  the  free  and  unrestricted  com- 
mingling of  the  sick  and  well,  of  doubtless  healthy  carriers  of  the 
inciting  agent  and  others,  until  so  high  a  degree  of  dissemination  of 
the  provoking  microorganism  has  been  secured  as  to  expose  the  entire 
susceptible  element  of  the  population,  which  happens  to  be  large,  to 
•an  almost  simultaneous  response  to  the  eftects  of  the  infecting  microbe. 

Deductions  of  like  import  can  be  drawn  from  the  geographical 
movements  of  an  influenza  e]:)idemic.  In  Eastern  Russia  and  Turke- 
stan influenza  si)reads  with  the  pace  of  a  caravan,  in  Europe  and 
America  with  the  speed  of  an  express  train,  in  the  world  at  large  with 


29: 

the  rapidity  of  an  ocean  liner  ;  if  one  project  forward  the  outcome 
of  the  means  of  intercommunication  of  the  near  future,  we  may  pre- 
dict that  the  next  jjandemic,  should  one  arise,  will  extend  with  the 
velocity  of  an  airship. 

It  is  desirable,  in  the  interest  of  clear  thinking,  to  carry  this  con- 
sideration of  the  characteristics  of  epidemic  influenza  a  step  farther. 
A  feature  of  the  epidemic  disease  of  particular  significance  is  the 
tendency  to  recur ;  that  is,  to  return  to  a  stricken  region  after  an  inter- 
val, usually  of  months,  of  relative  quiescence  Thus  the  beginnings 
of  the  last  pandemic  in  \\'estern  Europe  and  the  United  States  have 
been  traced  to  sporadic  cases  appearing  in  April,  ]\Iay  and  June,  pos- 
sibly even  earlier  in  certain  places,  while  the  destructive  epidemic 
raged  during  September,  October  and  November  of  1918.  The  dis- 
ease also  prevailed,  more  or  less,  in  the  United  States  during  1919  and 
again  during  the  present  year.  The  epidemic  of  1918-19  cost  more 
in  a  few  months  in  human  lives  than  were  killed  during  the  five  years 
duration  of  the  great  war.  The  statistics  from  India  alone  show 
something  like  6,000,000  deaths.  In  this  country  the  estimates  so 
far  have  varied  from  600,000  to  800,000,  and  you  can  carry  that  pro- 
portion around  the  world. 

There  are  very  good  reasons  for  believing  that  influenza  is  not  in 
itself  a  serious  disease,  but  that  its  sinister  character  is  given  by  the 
remarkable  frequency  with  which  it  is  followed  in  particular  instances 
by  a  concomitant  or  secondary  pneumonic  infection,  to  which  the 
severe  effects  and  high  mortality  are  traceable.  Now,  it  is  this  high 
incidence  of  pneumonia,  the  product  of  invasion  of  the  respiratory 
organs  with  bacteria  commonly  present  on  the  upper  respiratory  mucous 
membranes — streptococci,  pneumococci,  staphylococci.  PfeitTer's  ba- 
cilli, and  even  meningococci — that  stamp  the  recurrent  waves  of  the 
epidemic  with  its  bad  name. 

If  we  compare  the  pneumonic  complications  of  influenza  with 
those  that  arose  in  the  cantonments  in  19n-18,  first  as  attendants  of 
measles  and  later  as  an  independent  infection,  we  note  immediately 
that  in  both  instances  the  severe  effects  and  high  fatalities  arose,  not 
from  bacteria  brought  or  imposed  from  without,  but  from  their  repre- 
sentatives which  are  commonly  resident  uj^on  the  membranes  of  the 
nose  and  throat  in  health.  Whatever  we  may  have  to  learn  of  the 
microorganisms  inducing  measles,  still  undiscovered,  and  of  influenza, 
still  under  dispute,  and  their  mode  of  invasion  in  the  body,  no  one 
would  question  that  the  bacteria  inducing  ])neumonia  are  ])ersonallv 
boine. 

Streptococcus  Pneumonia. 

]n  discussi'ig  this  subject  the  lecturer  pointed  out  that  du'-;ng  the 
winter  of  IMIT-IH  there  occurred  in  several  localities  withii-  the  Um'ted 
States,  and  also,  but  in  a  less  degree,  in  I-'rance,  at  least  a  great  increase 


•298 

ill  the  incidence  of  a  fy])e  of  pneumonia  which  previously  had  heen  very 
infrequent.  It  appears  also  that  the  greatest  number  of  cases  and  of 
fatalities  arose  in  the  United  States  in  the  military  cantonments  ;  that 
the  disease  first  prevailed,  as  already  stated,  as  a  secondary  pneumonia 
following  measles  ;  but  before  long  the  severity  of  the  infection  was 
such  that  cases  of  primary  streptococcus  pneumonia  began  to  arise. 
^loreover,  at  this  juncture  the  disease  spread  from  the  military  to  the 
civil  populations.  The  nature  of  the  microorganism  inducing  this  form 
of  epidemic  pneumonia  is  indicated  in  the  name  which  the  disease  has 
come  to  bear.  The  difificulty  in  this  instance  has  not  been  in  finding 
out  the  inciting  microbe,  but,  rather,  in  differentiating  the  streptococci 
responsible  for  the  epidemic  disease  from  streptococci  possessing  the 
ordinary  pathogenic  properties,  or  even  from  those  of  saprophytic 
nature  so  commonly  present  on  the  upper  respiratory  mucous  mem- 
branes without  provoking  widespread  disease.  However,  numerous 
studies  of  the  bacteriology  of  this  epidemic  of  i)neumonia,  at  distinct 
and  often  widely  remote  cantonments,  involving  much  animal  experi- 
mentation, showed  that  the  microbic  incitant  w^as  in  almost  every  in- 
stance streptococcus  heiuolyticiis.  Moreover,  because  of  the  wide  oc- 
currence of  the  ejiidemic  pneumonia,  this  type  of  streptococcus  could 
l)e  found  in  normal  throats  and  as  a  secondary  invading  microorganism 
in  the  lungs  in  cases  of  ordinary  lobar  pneumonia.  Thus  far  very 
little  progress  has  been  made  in  the  classification  of  streptococci,  which 
form  a  class  apparently  even  more  heterogeneous  than  the  pneumococci 
and  will  involve  much  arduous  experimental  laboratory  work. 

With  these  various  considerations  before  us  we  may  now  discuss  the 
question  of  the  efihciency  of  our  public-health  measure  in  diminishing 
the  incidence  of  epidemic  diseases.  It  is  evident  that  in  diseases  in 
which  the  inciting  microorganism  enters  the  body  by  way  of  the  air 
])assages,  although  not  necessarily,  as  in  poliomyelitis,  directly  injuring 
those  parts,  protection  is  not  to  be  secured  by  api)lying  sanitary  meas- 
ures on  a  wide  scale  to  an  extraneous  and  inanimate  source  of  the 
which  the  inciting  microorganism  enters  the  body  by  way  of  the  air 
dejecta  of  typhoid  i)atients,  or  even  to  inferior  animal  species  such  as 
the  mosquito  or  the  rat,  which  act  as  intermediaries  in  conveying  the 
germs  of  yellow  fever  or  of  infectious  jaundice;  but  it  is  alone  to  be 
attained  by  methods  of  personal  hygiene,  applied  on  the  individual  scale 
of  safeguarding  one  person  from  another,  the  most  difficult  of  all 
hygienic  regulations  to  enforce. 

As  a  result  of  animal  experimentation  in  epidemic  poliomyelitis 
we  may  fairly  claim  that  we  are  in  possession  of  the  essential  facts 
which,  if  widely  applicable,  should  enable  us  to  control  the  spread  of 
that  disease. 

Epidemic  diseases  in  the  commonly  acce])ted  sense  have  fixed  lo- 
cations— the  so-called  epidemic  homes  of  the  diseases.  In  those  homes 
they   survive   without   usually   attracting   s])ecial   attention   often   over 


299 

long  periods  of  time.  But  from  time  to  time,  and  for  reasons  not 
entirely  clear,  these  dormant  foci  of  the  epidemics  take  on  an  un- 
wonted activity,  the  evidence  of  which  is  the  more  frequent  api:)ear- 
ance  of  cases  of  the  particular  disease  among  the  native  population, 
and  sooner  or  later  an  extension  of  the  disease  beyond  its  endemic  con- 
fines. Thus  there  are  excellent  reasons  for  believing  that  an  endemic 
focus  of  ])oliomyelitis  has  been  established  in  Northwestern  Europe 
from  which  the  recent  epidemic  waves  have  emanated. 

Similarly  there  are  excellent  reasons  for  regarding  the  endemic 
home  of  influenza  to  be  Eastern  Europe,  and  in  ])articular  the  border 
region  between  Russia  and  Turkestan.  Many  recorded  epidemics 
have  been  shown  more  or  less  clearly  to  emanate  from  that  area,  while 
the  epidemics  of  recent  history  have  been  traced  there  with  a  high 
degree  of  conclusiveness.  From  this  eastern  home,  at  intervals  of  two 
or  three  decades,  a  migrating  epidemic  influenza  begins,  moving  east- 
ward and  westward,  with  the  greater  velocity  in  the  latter  direction. 

Now,  since  the  combatting  of  these  two  epidemic  diseases,  when 
they  become  widely  and  severely  pandemical,  is  attended  with  such 
very  great  difficulty  and  is  of  such  dubious  success,  and  this  notwith- 
standing the  prodigious  public-health  contests  which  are  waged  against 
them  in  which  the  advantages  are  all  in  favor  of  the  invading  nu'cro- 
organismal  hosts,  it  would  seem  as  if  an  eft'ort  of  central  rather  than 
peripheral  control  might  be  worth  discussion.  According  to  this 
proposal,  an  effort  at  control  amounting  even  to  eventual  eradication 
of  the  diseases  in  the  regions  of  their  endemic  survival  should  be  under- 
taken, an  effort,  indeed,  not  occasional  and  intensively  spasmodic,  as 
during  the  pandemical  excursions,  but  continuous  over  relatively  long 
periods,  in  the  hope  that  the  seed  beds,  as  it  were,  of  the  diseases 
might  be  destroyed. 

That  such  an  effort  at  the  eradication  of  a  serious  epidemic  dis- 
ease may  be  carried  through  successfully  the  experience  with  yellow 
fever  abundantly  i)roves.  In  attacking  the  disease  the  combat  was 
not  put  off  until  its  epidemic  s])read  had  begun  and  until  new  territory, 
such  as  New  Orleans,  Jacksonville,  Memphis,  etc.,  had  been  invaded  ; 
but  the  attack  was  made  on  its  sources  at  Havana,  Panama,  and  now 
Guayaquil,  to  which  endemic  points  the  extension  into  new  and  neu- 
tral territory  had  been  traced.  Such  a  ])lan  is  now  in  process  of 
elaboration  by  the  Rockefeller  Institute. 

Encepii.xlitis  Leth.vrgica. 

Another  disease  that  demands  animal  experimentation  and  inten- 
sive study  is  lethargic  encephalitis.  ap])arently  only  recently  introduced 
in,  and  already  widely  distributed  through,  tiiis  country.  It  is  highly 
desirable  that  the  main  facts  known  should  be  given  ])ublicity  ;  and  it 


300 

may  be  well  that  the  experience,  gained  with  poliomyelitis,  may  serve 
lis  in  dealing  more  effectively  with  the  ence])halitis  peril. 

It  appears  that  the  first  cases  of  that  disease  recognized  in  the 
United  States  occurred  in  the  winter  of  U)  18-19.  In  contradistinction 
to  epidemic  poliomyelitis,  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  this  epi- 
demic affection  of  the  central  nervous  system  ever  before  existed  in 
America.  The  point  is  an  important  one.  At  ])resent  the  disease  seems 
to  be  widely  distributed,  as  cases  have  been  reported  from  many  States. 

It  is  ])ossible  to  trace  the  cases  of  lethargic,  or  epidemic  encephal- 
itis, now  arising  in  this  country,  to  an  outbreak  which  occurred  in 
Vienna  and  neighboring  parts  of  Austria  in  the  winter  of  1916.  Be- 
cause of  war  conditions,  knowledge  of  this  unusual  disease  did  not  at 
once  reach  Western  Europe  and  the  United  States ;  but  nevertheless 
cases  of '  the  disease  occurred  in  England  and  France  in  the  early 
months  of  1918,  and  in  America  about  One  year  later.  Both  in  Austria 
and  in  England,  in  which  countries  the  first  cases  were  observed, 
res]iectively,  in  eastern  and  western  Europe  the  disease  was  first  mis- 
takenly attributed  to  food  intoxications.  In  Austria  the  early  cases 
were  ascribed  to  sausage  poisoning;  in  England  to  botulism  arising 
from  various  foods.  This  error  is  not  perhaps  as  remarkable  as  might 
at  first  appear.  In  the  first  place,  both  countries  were  laboring  imder 
unprecedented  conditions  of  food  shortage,  preserved  foods  were 
employed  on  a  scale  never  before  equaled,  and,  of  course,  waste  and 
refuse  were  reduced  to  a  minimum.  Furthermore,  an  early  symptom 
of  this  encephalitis  is  third-  nerve  paralysis — giving  rise  to  diplopia, 
ptosis,  etc. — which  happens  also  to  be  an  early  symptom  in  certain 
forms  of  food  poisoning  and  notable  in  botulism.  Ultimately,  in  both 
countries  the  notion  of  food  origin  became  untenable,  and  the  disease 
was  recognized  as  arising  independently  of  diet  and  other  usual  con- 
ditions of  life,  and  come  to  be  viewed  as  probably  of  microbic  origin 
and  of  communicable  nature. 

It  is  now  sufficiently  obvious  why  the  popular  name  of  "sleeping 
sickness"  has  been  applied  to  this  malady.  The  disease  is,  of  course, 
wholly  distinct  from  African  sleeping  sickness,  which  is  a  trypanosomal 
infection  carried  from  person  to  person  by  means  of  an  insect  vector — 
the  tsetse  fly.  When  an  apparently  new  disease  arises,  it  is  always 
important  to  inquire  whether  the  particular  set  of  symptoms  that  are 
taken  to  characterize  it  has  been  observed  and  recorded  before. 

In  the  present  instance  there  are  significant  records  which  may 
easily  refer  to  a  similar  and  possibly  identical  disease.  The  first  one 
dates  from  1712  and  refers  to  an  outbreak  of  so-called  sleeping  sick- 
ness centering  about  Tubingen  in  Germany.  The  second  record  dates 
from  1890  and  deals  with  a  puzzling  malady  called  nona,  which  is 
described  rather  in  the  lay  than  the  medical  literature  of  the  time  and 
seems  to  have  prevailed  in  the  territory  bounded  by  Austria,  Italy  and 
Switzerland.     In  respect  to  neither  instance,  however,  do  the  records 


301 

contain  the  minuter  data  which  would  admit  of  a  certain  identification 
of  the  disease  described  with  the  encephahc  malady  we  are  consider- 
ing. One  circumstance  is,  however,  significantly  suggestive.  The 
location  of  the  1800  affection  "nona,"  which  was  characterized  by 
somnolence,  stupor  and  coma,  coincides  roughly  at  least  with  that  of 
the  first  cases  reported  in  the  present  epidemic.  The  question  may, 
therefore,  well  be  raised  whether  the  endemic  home  of  this  epidemic 
variety  of  encephalitis  may  not  be  that  corner  of  southeastern  Europe 
overlapping  the  three  countries  mentioned.  If  this  should  prove  to  be 
probable,  the  next  question  to  arise  would  relate  to  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  disease  slumbered  on  in  ordinary  times,  and  to  the 
conditions  that  favored  a  greater  activity  and  a  wider  spread  about 
the  year  1916. 

To  deal  with  the  first  one  will  require  particular  and  intensive 
studies  carried  out  with  the  especial  object  in  view  to  disclose  hidden 
cases  in  the  region  originally  afifected.  An  answer  can  in  the  mean- 
time be  hazarded  to  the  second  question.  The  depressing  effects  of 
war,  acting  by  way  of  hunger,  cold,  migrations  of  populations  and 
general  insanitation,  might  initiate  the  conditions  through  which  a  low 
endemic  might  well  be  converted  into  a  higher  epidemic  incidence  of 
the  disease. 

It  is  now  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  determine  the  precise 
nature  or  etiology  of  lethargic  encephalitis.  i\Iany  unsuccessful  at- 
tem])ts  have  been  made  to  communicate  the  disease  to  monkeys  and 
other  animals  through  the  inoculation  of  nervous  tissues  showing  the 
particular  lesions  in  the  manner  so  readily  and  successfully  employed 
in  monkeys  for  poliomyelitis.  This  circumstance  alone  would  serve 
to  distinguish  this  epidemic  encephalitis  from  epidemic  jioliomvelitis. 
Rut  in  two  or  three  instances,  what  are  stated  to  be  successful  trans- 
missions of  the  disease  to  animals  have  been  re])orted. 

It  is  still  too  soon  to  say  whether  or  not  we  are  now  at  the  thresh- 
old of  clearing  up,  by  way  of  animal  ex])erimentation,  the  etiology 
and  mode  of  transmission  of  this  menacing  disease,  as  was  accom- 
])lished  so  recently,  and  also  by  animal  experimentation  in  the  case  of 
j)oliomyelitis.  But  at  this  moment,  and  while  waiting  for  the  ultimate 
and  convincing  experimental  results,  one  need  entertain  no  doubt  of 
the  infectious  and  communicable  nature  of  lethargic  encephalitis. 

In  conclusion  Dr.  Flexner  remarked  that  time  would  not  permit 
him  to  discuss  many  of  the  problems  now  awaiting  solution  or  to  ref.-^r 
to  the  work  carried  on  by  the  staff  of  the  Rockefeller  Institute  for 
Medical  Research  in  all  of  its  departments,  but  expressed  the  fervent 
hope  that  in  the  interests  of  the  human  race  and  the  animals  themselves, 
the  progress  of  scientific  medicine  would  not  be  impeded  ny  unneces- 
sary legislation. 


302 

THE  LEGAL  ASPECTS  OF  VIVISECTION. 

By 

William  Creighton  Woodward,  jM.  D.,  LL.  M. 

Health  Commissioner  of  Boston,  Mass. 
Professor  of  Medical  Jurisprudence  Georgetozvn  University. 

After  the  ex])osition  that  has  just  been  made  of  the  inestimable 
benefits  in  the  interest  of  human  heahh  and  hajipiness  that  have  been 
achieved  through  animal  experimentation,  and  that  would  have  been 
impossible  without  it,  no  one  of  you  can  fail  to  see  the  danger  inherent 
in  any  attempt  to  restrict  that  field  of  research  or  to  hamper  operations 
within  it.  Certainly  any  needless  restriction  and  hindrance  would  be 
hardly  short  of  criminal,  and  the  burden  of  showing  the  necessity  for 
any  such  restriction  or  hindrance  as  may  be  ])roposed  rests  clearly 
ujwn  the  proponents. 

In  the  absence  of  clear  evidence  of  a  wrong,  to  be  righted,  no  legis- 
lation to  restrict  and  hinder  animal  experimentation  is  justifiable ;  and 
if  wrong  be  shown,  then  such  remedial  legislation  as  may  be  proposed 
should  have  some  direct  and  demonstrable  relation  to  the  end  to  be 
accomplished  and  should  go  no  further  than  is  necessary  to  accom- 
plish that  end.  Let  us  see  what  the  facts  are  with  respect  to  the  legis- 
lation now  pending  in  Congress  to  prohibit  absolutely  and  forever,  in 
the  District  of  Columbia  and  in  the  Territorial  and  insular  possessions 
of  the  United  States,  all  experiments  upon  living  dogs,  luiless  the  ex- 
periment has  for  its  sole  purfjose  the  healing  or  curing  of  some  physical 
ailment  of  the  very  dog  experimented  upon.a 

The  alleged  motive  of  the  proposed  legislation  is  set  forth  in  the 
preamble  of  the  bill ;  the  enactment  of  such  legislation  is,  "an  act  of 
right  and  justice  to  the  dog,"  because  "the  dog  has  made  a  wonderful 
war  record,"  and  "because  he  has  been  decorated  for  bravery,  serving 
his  country,  following  its  flag,  and  dying  for  its  cause."  But  some 
doubt  seems  to  be  thrown,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  on  the  sincerity  of  this 
preamble  by  a  statement  made  by  one  of  the  leading  proponents  of  the 
bill,  to  the  effect  that  "We  are  so  modest  that  we  are  beginning  with  the 
thin  edge  of  the  wedge.  We  want  to  save  dogs,  and  later  on  we  will 
probably  try  to  save  other  animals."/;     If  dogkind  is  now  to  be  honored 


a  A  bill  to  ])rohibit  ex])eriments  upon  living  dogs  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  or  in  any  of  the  Territorial  or  insular  po.ssessions  of  the 
United  States,  and  jjroviding  a  i)enalty  for  violation  thereof.  S.  1258, 
66th  Congress,  1st  session. 

b  Hearing  before  the  subcommittee  of  the  Committee  on  the  Judi- 
ciary, United  States  Senate,  66th  Congress,  1st  session,  on  S.  1258, 
page  25. 


303 

in  the  manner  proposed  in  this  bill,  becatise  of  the  distinguished  serv- 
ices rendered  by  dogs  during  the  war,  it  is  not  quite  clear"  why  similar 
honor  should  be  bestowed  upon  other  species  that  did  not  render  such 
service;  such  a  course  would  certainly  cheapen  the  honor  bestowed 
on  the  dog!  And  if  other  species  did  render  such  distinguished  war 
service,  it  would  seem  as  though  they,  equally  with  the  dog,  should  be 
honored  now  in  the  pending  legislation  rather  than  asked  to  wait  for 
their  honors.  The  horse  and  the  mule,  that  di-1  such  noble  v.'ork  in 
transportation ;  the  carrier  pigeon,  that  did  such  remarkable  messenger 
service;  the  steer,  the  sheep,  the  hog,  the  chicken,  and  even  the  tlsh. 
that  gave  up  their  lives  that  the  army  and  the  people  might  live  ;  mavbe 
even  the  cat,  who  did  her  bit  in  the  protection  of  food  supplies  f i  om 
rodent  depredations  ;  and  most  assuredly,  the  modest  guinea  pig,  that 
endured  so  much  in  testing  and  standardization  of  medical  supplies 
— certainly  the  righteous  claims  of  all  of  these  cannot  justly  be  ignored 
and  lightly  brushed  aside  if  the  real  purpose  of  this  bill  is  to  grant  in 
peqjetuity  as  a  reward  for  war  service  freedom  from  all  experimep- 
tation. 

Waving,  however,  possible  question  as  to  the  motive  of  this  bill 
and  i^roceeding  to  a  study  of  its  text  and  of  the  hearing  on  it,  we  fail 
to  discover  any  evidence  of  ''the  wonderful  war  record"  of  the  dog 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  that  record  would  s.^em  from  the  p;-eaml)le 
to  form  the  very  heart  of  the  demand  that  al!  dogkind  be  relieved  for 
all  time  of  its  obligation  to  repay  to  man  in  some  small  degree  the 
affection,  care,  and  effort  that  man  has  bestowed  upon  him,  and  of  the 
demand  implied  in  it,  to  transfer  to  other  species  the  burden  that  the 
dog  might  equitably  be  expected  to  share  with  iheni,  of  submitting  to 
exi)erimentaticn  in  the  interest  of  mankind  and  of  animals  generally. 
That  some  dogs  manifested  faithfulness  and  courage  during  the  war 
(to  the  extent  that  such  virtues  can  be  translated  from  mankind  to  the 
brute  creation),  no  one  will  deny;  but  that  all  dogs  tried  out  in  A\-ar 
service  distinguished  themselves  by  such  conduct  has  never,  so  far  as  I 
am  informed,  been  asserted,  nor  even  that  faithfulness  and  courage 
were  distinguishing  characteristics  of  most  of  them. 

And  yet  this  bill  proposes  to  do,  homage  to  all  dogs  alike ;  not 
merely  to  the  faithful,  but  also  to  the  traitor;  not  merely  to  the  coura- 
geous, but  also  to  the  cowardly  ;  not  merely  to  the  dog  that  saw  war 
service,  but  also  to  the  i)ampered  pet  in  the  fashionable,  steam-heated 
a])artment  house  or  palace,  that  lived  on  the  fat  of  the  land,  and  occu- 
j)ied  the  time  of  his  mistress  and  maybe  a  nurse  maid  or  two,  that  had 
better  been  devoted  to  the  welfare!  of  the  men  in  the  trenches;  and 
that  the  honors  may  be  entirely  even,  they  extend  even  to  the  sheep- 
killing  mongrel  that  did  his  best  to  keep  down  the  meat  supply  and  the 
wool  su])ply  of  the  country  during  war  time.  Finally,  as  if  the  present 
generation  of  dogs  were  not  numerous  enough,  and  big  enough,  and 
strong  enough   to  carr\    the   honors   that   the   proponents   of   this   bill 


304 

would  heap  upon  the  species,  it  is  proposed  that  such  honors  he  spread 
over  generations  of  dogs  as  yet  unborn,  from  now  on  henceforth  for- 
evermore.  Certainly,  if  the  attribute  of  courage  can  riglitly  be  attrib- 
uted to  dogkind,  no  self-respecting  dog  that  did  its  bit  during  the  war 
would  ask  for  his  offspring  forever  that  it  be  exempted  from  all  lia- 
bility to  one  of  the  most  important  services  it  can  render  mankind — 
and  brutekind,  too,  for  that  matter ;  for  experiments  on  dogs  con- 
tribute to  the  well  being  not  only  of  human  beings  but  of  domestic 
animals  as  well,  including  dogs  themselves. 

Even  if  we  were  to  agree  with  the  proponents  of  the  legislation 
now  under  consideration,  that  for  the  reasons  stated  in  the  ])reamble 
honor  should  be  conferred  upon  dogkind,  there  would  still  lie  before  us 
a  wide  field  for  discussion  and  debate  as  to  just  what  honor  and  how 
much  honor  should  be  conferred.  Discussion  and  debate  of  this  kind 
would,  however,  take  us  so  far  afield  as  to  render  impossible  any  profit- 
able result  within  the  time  at  our  command,  and  the  proponents  of  this 
legislation,  by  naming  in  it  a  single  and  very  definite  form  of  honor 
have  virtually  limited  discussion  to  that  form.  After  the  enactment 
of  the  ])ro])osed  legislation  it  is  to  be  unlawful  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia or  in  any  of  the  Territorial  or  insular  possessions  of  the  United 
States  "for  any  person  to  experiment  or  operate  in  any  manner  what- 
soever, upon  any  living  dog,  for  any  purpose  other  than  the  healing  or 
curing  of  said  dog  of  physical  ailments"  ;  and  the  bill  is  entitled  "A  bill 
to  prohibit  experiments  upon  living  dogs  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
or  in  any  of  the  Territorial  or  insular  possessions  of  the  United  States, 
and  providing  a  penalty  for  violation  thereof."  To  he  sure  of  our 
ground,  it  may  be  well  to  make  certain  just  what  an  "experiment"  is, 
and  the  Standard  Dictionary  is  probably  a  safe  guide  upon  this  point. 
To  experiment  is,  according  to  the  Standard  Dictionary,  to  make  an 
experiment,  test,  or  trial ;  to  submit  a  thing  or  person  to  any  i)rocess  or 
ordeal,  as  for  purpose  of  investigation  or  discovery.  And  an  experi- 
ment is  an  act  or  operation  to  discover,  test,  or  illustrate  some  truth, 
principle,  or  effect. 

Manifestly,  then,  the  enactment  of  the  proposed  legislation  would 
make  unlawful  any  test  or  trial  upon  any  living  dog  for  any  ]nirpose 
whatsoever,  other  than  the  healing  or  curing  of  said  dog  of  some 
physical  ailment.  A  dog  without  a  |)hysical  ailment  could  not  be  sub- 
jected to  any  experiment,  test,  or  trial,  of  any  kind.  A  dog  suffering 
from  a  physical  ailment  could  be  subjected  only  to  an  experiment,  test, 
or  trial  that  was  designed  to  remove  that  particular  ailment  from  that 
particular  dog.  Whether  the  experiment,  test,  or  trial  was  calculated 
to  add  to  the  dog's  comfort,  to  give  it  pain,  or  to  give  it  pleasure  would 
be  utterly  immaterial  for  the  purpose  of  determining  whether  the  ex- 
periment was  or  was  not  ]nmishable  under  the  law.  Probably,  how- 
ever, we  can  for  present  jjurposes  ignore  the  proposed  prohibition  of 
comfort-giving  and  pleasurable  experiments,  tests,  and   trials,   which 


305 

maybe  the  proponents  of  this  bill  did  not  really  intend  to  prohibit — 
although  it  would  have  been  much  better  for  them  to  have  expressed 
their  ideas  more  clearly  if  that  is  the  case ;  and  we  can  limit  our  con- 
sideration of  the  matter  to  the  general  class  of  experiments  that  cause 
varying  amounts  of  inconvenience  and  possibly  even  some  pain  to  the 
dog  experimented  upon,  varying  from  the  prick  of  a  hypodermic  needle 
to  the  pain  that  may  be  suffered  after  recovering  from  the  anesthetic 
administered  during  some  more  or  less  serious  and  important  experi- 
ment, made  in  the  interest  of  humanity  or  of  animal  kind  generally. 
Is  there,  or  is  there  not,  need  for  any  legislation  to  prevent  the  infliction 
of  such  pain  and  inconvenience  upon  dogs  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
and  in  the  Territorial  and  insular  possessions  of  the  United  States? 

Within  the  time  at  my  command,  I  have  not  had  the  opportunity 
of  examining  the  laws  in  force  in  the  various  Territorial  and  insular 
])OSsessions  of  the  United  States  relating  to  the  infliction  of  pain  and 
discomfort  on  animals.  If  such  laws  are  adequate  there  is  no  need 
for  further  legislation  ;  and  the  burden  of  proving  inadecjuacy  rests  upon 
the  proponents  of  the  legislation  now  before  us.  If  the  legislative 
bodies  of  those  several  jurisdictions  have  fallen  short  of  their  duty, 
evidence  of  that  fact  should  be  produced  before  Congress  is  asked  to 
assert  its  jurisdiction  in  the  j)remises.  And  I  may  add  incidentally, 
the  record  shows  no  demand  for  this  proposed  legislation  from  the 
people  of  the  Territories  and  the  insular  possessions — nor  from  the 
people  of  the  District  of  Columbia  either,  for  that  matter.  The  pres- 
sure for  its  enactment  seems  to  come  largely  from  persons  residing  in 
jurisdictions  that  cannot  be  affected  by  it,  and  in  these  jurisdictions 
they  have  not  succeeded,  and  i)Ossibly  have  not  even  tried,  in  procuring 
the  enactment  of  such  legislation  as  they  now  suggest  be  imposed  on 
communities  to  which  they  are  in  large  part  strangers. 

That  so  far  as  the  District  of  Columbia  is  concerned  there  are 
laws  for  the  punishment  of  persons  guilty  of  cruelty  to  animals  is  too 
well  known  to  need  comment.  Prosecutions  are  being  brought  con- 
tinually under  such  laws.  There  is,  however,  in  the  law,  as  in  common 
speech,  a  distinction  between  cruelty  and  the  mere  imposition  of  dis- 
comfort or  pain.  The  imposition  of  discomfort  or  i)ain  constitutes 
cruelty  and  is  punishable  only  when  it  is  not  inflicted  for  a  justifiable 
end.  The  determination  of  the  matter  now  before  us,  in  so  far  as 
the  adequacy  of  existing  law  in  the  District  of  Columbia  is  concerned 
hinges,  then,  on  the  question  whether  the  ends  sought  by  ex])erimenta- 
tion  on  dogs  are  justifiable  ends,  and  whether  in  connection  with  such 
experiments,  if  the  ends  sought  are  justifiable,  such  ])ain  as  is  inflicted 
is  or  is  not  a  necessary  element  of  the  experiment.  If,  all  things  con- 
sidered, the  ends  sought  by  such  experiments  are  justifiable,  then 
clearly  the  experiments  should  not  be  prohibited;  and  if  pain  is  a 
necessary  element  in  such  experiments,  then  to  prohibit  pain  is  to  pro- 
hibit  the  experiments.     .\   brief  exann'nation   of   the  law  in    force  in 


30G 

the  District  shows  that  all  of  these  considerations  have  passed  in  care- 
ful review  before  the  legislative  authorities  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
and  that  they  have  been  wisely  acted  upon.  Public  morals  have  been 
duly  safeguarded,  the  humane  treatment  of  animals  definitely  insisted 
upon,  the  rights  and  opportvniities  of  investigators  reasonably  safe- 
guarded, and  extraordinary  ])rovisions  made  for  the  enforcement  of 
the  law. 

The  law  governing  experimentation  upon  animals  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  was  enacted  by  the  Legislative  Assembly  in  LSIl  and  is 
set  out  at  length  in  Abert's  Statutes  in  Force  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, pages  540  ct  scq.a.  It  makes  it  unlawful  to  inflict  umiecessary 
cruelty  upon  any  animal  or  to  authorize  or  i)ermit  any  unnecessary 
torture,  suffering,  or  cruelty  of  any  kind.  And  if  there  were  any 
doubt  as  to  whether  the  provisions  of  this  law  were  or  were  not  ai)|)li- 
cable  to  cases  in  which  pain  might  be  inflicted  in  connection  with  ani- 
mal experimentation,  it  would  be  very  definitely  dispelled  by  the  fol- 
lowing provision  : 

"Section  15.  Nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall  be  construed  to 
l)rohibit  or  interfere  with  any  properly  conducted  scientific  experi- 
ments or  investigations,  which  experiments  shall  be  performed  only 
under  the  authority  of  the  faculty  of  some  regularly  incorporated  medi- 
cal college,  university  or  scientific  society." 

Stated  in  other  words,  no  infliction  of  pain  is  to  be  tolerated  unless 
the  experiment  is  of  a  scientific  nature  and  properly  conducted  ;  and 
in  order  that  there  may  be  some  assurance  that  such  experiments  as 
are  ])erformed  are  presumptively  of  this  character,  they  may  lawfully 
be  performed  onlv  under  the  authority  of  some  com])etent,  responsible 
organization,  which  in  effect  stands  back  of  the  experiment  either  by 
authorizing  the  particular  experiment  that  is  to  be  made  or  else  by 
vouching,  as  it  were,  for  the  judgment  and  cpialifications  of  the  ex- 
])erimentor  to  engage  generally  in  that  field  of  work. 

But  in  order  to  guard  against  the  possible  incompetence  or  care- 
lessness of  experimentors,  medical  colleges,  universities,  and  scientific 
societies  with  respect  to  this  matter,  it  is  made  the  ex])ress  duty  of  all 
police  ofificers  and  of  any  member  of  the  Washington  Humane  Society 
to  prosecute  all  violations  of  the  act  that  come  to  their  notice  or  knowl- 
edge. And  if  any  member  of  the  Washington  Humane  Society  be- 
lieves and  has  reasonable  cause  to  believe  that  the  laws  in  relation  to 
cruelty  to  animals  have  been  or  are  being  violated  in  any  particular 
building  or  ])lace,  he  is  u])on  oath  or  affirmation  to  that  eff'ect,  and  due 
application,  entitled  to  a  search  warrant.  .\nd  as  though  to  insure 
beyond  the  peradventure  of  a  doubt  that  the  ]M-ovisions  of  the  law 
would  be  carried  out,  it  is  ])rovided  that  fines  and  forfeitures  collected 
upon  or  resulting  from  the  complaint  or  information  of  any  member 
of  the  Washington  Humane  Society  shall  inure  to  and  be  paid  over  to 
that  society. 

a  For  the  pertijient  parts  of  this  Statute  see  Appendix. 


307 

On  the  face  of  things,  the  law  as  set  forth  above  certainly  seems 
ample  to  prevent  cruelty  to  animals,  including  within  the  meaning  of 
the  word  cruelty  all  such  pain  as  may  be  inflicted  in  connection  with 
unnecessary  experimentation  and  all  such  as  may  be  needlessly  in- 
flicted in  connection  with  experimentation  that  is  in  itself  necessary  and 
proper.  Dogs  and  all  other  animals  seem  to  be  amply  protected.  And 
when  it  is  remembered  that  this  law  has  been  in  effect  for  almost  half 
a  century  it  seems  certain  that  if  there  has  been  any  unnecessary  inflic- 
tion of  pain  in  connection  with  experimentation  on  animals  there  must 
be  within  that  half  century  some  record  of  prosecutions  which,  if  the 
law  be  effective,  must  have  resulted  in  convictions  and  punishments 
and,  if  the  law  be  ineffective,  must  have  left  upon  the  records  of  the 
courts  of  the  District  erf  Columbia  evidence  of  that  fact. 

I  had  occasion  in  the  year  1000  to  look  carefully  into  this  matter, 
the  law  having- been  then  in  force  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  I  was  then  unable  to  find  any  evidence  of  a  single  prosecution 
having  been  brought,  either  upon  the  initiative  of  any  private  citizen, 
or  of  any  police  officer,  or  of  any  member  of  the  Washington  Humane 
Society.  No  record  could  be  found  of  a  single  search  warrant  having 
been  applied  for  under  the  act  or  of  any  effort  ever  having  been  made 
to  institute  any  prosecutions  under  it.  It  follows,  of  course,  that  there 
was  no  record  of  any  court  ever  having  construed  this  law  as  inappli- 
cable to  cases  involving  the  infliction  of  unnecessary  cruelty  in  connec- 
tion with  animal  experimentation.  All  of  these  facts  were  made  pub- 
lic at  the  time,  and  certainly  should  have  served  to  stimulate  the  issue 
of  search  warrants  and  to  stimulate  prosecutions,  if  reasonable  suspi- 
cion or  concrete  evidence  of  violations  of  the  law  were  at  hand.  Ever 
since  this  situation  was  made  public,  the  year  1000,  I  have  been  inti- 
mately in  touch  with  thq  situation,  and  during  all  that  time  I  have 
known  of  no  effort  to  obtain  a  search  warrant  under  the  law,  of  no 
attempted  prosecution  under  it,  and,  of  course,  of  no  court  decision 
indicating  the  ineffectiveness  of  the  law  to  accomjilish  its  manifest  ])ur- 
pose.  It  seems  safe  to  say,  therefore,  that  there  is  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  no  experimentation  U]:)on  dogs  or  other  animals  that  is  not 
regulated  by  existing  law,  duly  safeguarded  by  the  watchful  and  spe- 
cial authority  of  the  Washington  Humane  Society  itself. 

The  conclusion  just  set  forth  seems  too  definite  and  too  clearly 
supported  to  need  reinforcement.  If,  however,  reinforcement  be 
deemed  necessary,  it  may  be  found  by  reference  to  the  records  of  the 
numerous  hearings  that  have  been  held  from  time  to  time  since  1800, 
before  Congressional  committees,  in  connection  with  bills  that  have 
been  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  or  preventing  experi- 
mentation upon  animals  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Certainly,  if  any 
such  bill  could  ever  have  found  sui)port  in  the  least  degree  upon  evi- 
dence of  any  specific  instance  or  itistances  of  cruel  experimentation 
on  animals  in  the  District,  that  evidence  would  have  been  forthcoming. 


308 

for  there  could  be  no  other  evidence  of  so  much  weight,  and  yet  1 
can  recall  no  single  instance  in  whicli  any  such  evidence  has  been 
adduced. 

It  might  be  argued,  however,  that  even  though  there  be  no  wrong 
to  be  righted  by  the  proi)osed  legislation,  yet  that  its  enactment  would 
do  no  harm  and  that  it  would  be  a  very  inexpensive  way  of  ])aying  a 
sui)])osed  debt  to  all  dogkind.  At  best  it  would  be  a  paying  of  a  sup- 
posed indebtedness  to  dogkind  by  saddling  upon  other  animals  the 
service  now  rendered  by  dogs,  which  would  be  a  most  unjust  thing 
to  do,  since  many  other  species  have  rendered  to  mankind  in  the  war 
and  at  all  other  times  service  far  beyond  that  rendered  by  the  dog. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  those  who  are  best  qualified  to  speak 
with  respect  to  the  subject  will  tell  you  that  certain  experiments  in  the 
interests  of  mankind  and  of  animals  generally  »cannot  be  as  well  ])er- 
formed  upon  other  animals  as  they  can  be  upon  dogs.  Moreover,  one 
of  the  witnesses  adduced  by  the  pro])onents  of  the  measure  frankly 
announces  that  this  bill  is  but  the  small  end  of  the  wedge  with  which 
it  may  be  possible  to  stop  all  animal  experimentation.  Under  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  in  view  of  the  lucid  statement  made  by  the  preceding 
speaker  as  to  the  "wonderful  benefits  that  have  accrued  from  animal 
experimentation,  the  i)assage  of  this  bill  could  never  be  condoned  on 
the  ground  that  it  was  at  least  harmless — for  it  is  not. 

The  bare  fact,  however,  that  the  enactment  of  this  bill  is  unneces- 
sary, and  even  the  fact  that  its  passage  would  work  harm,  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  the  bill  from  becoming  a  law.  There  are  persons  of 
wealth,  of  social  standing,  and  of  intellectual  standing  who  believe  in 
it  and  who  have  w^orked  and  will  work  actively  for  its  passage.  Sen- 
ators and  representatives  who  will  be  called  upon  to  consider  it  are  men 
busy  with  large  afifairs  of  national  and  international  importance,  who 
have  but  little  time  for  personal  research  into  the  merits  of  measures 
such  as  this,  and  who  may  be  misled  by  the  plausible  arguments  of  the 
])ro]:)onents  of  the  bill  unless  there  be  an  intelligent  and  energetic  cam- 
paign to  place  before  these  senators  and  representatives  the  facts  of  the 
situation.  It  is  in  such  a  campaign  that  Georgetown  University  is  now 
assiuning  a  position  of  leadership,  and  under  its  banner  I  ask  all  of 
you  to  enlist  and  to  fight  for  the  cause. 


309 

Appendix. 

Extract  from  section  one  of  an  Act  of  the  Legislative  Assembly 
OF  THE  District  of  Columbia,  entitled  : 

"An  act  for  the  more  effectual  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals  in  the 
Territory  of  the  District  of  Columbia,"  approved  August  23, 
18T1. 

"Whoever,  having  the  charge  or  custody  of  any  animal,  either  as 
owner  or  otherwise,  inflicts  unnecessary  cruelty  upon  the  same  *  *  * 
shall  for  every  such  offense  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  jail  not 
exceeding  one  year,  or  by  fine  not  exceeding  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 

"Every  owner,  possessor,  or  person  having  the  charge  or  custody 
of  any  animal,  who  *  *  *  knowingly  and  wilfully  authorizes  or 
permits  the  same  to  be  subject  to  unnecessary  torture,  sufifering,  or 
cruelty  of  any  kind,  shall  be  punished  for  every  such  ofifense  in  the 
manner  provided  in  Section  1. 

"Whenever  complaint  is  made  by  any  member  of  the  Association 
for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals  (Washington  Humane  So- 
ciety) on  oath  or  affirmation,  to  any  magistrate  authorized  to  issue 
warrants  in  criminal  cases,  that  the  complainant  believes,  and  has 
reasonable  cause  to  believe,  that  the  laws  in  relation  to  cruelty  to  ani- 
mals have  been  or  are  being  violated  in  any  particular  building  or  place, 
such  magistrate,  if  satisfied  that  there  is  reasonable  cause  for  such 
belief,  shall  issue  a  search  w^arrant,  authorizing  any  marshal,  deputy 
marshal,  constable,  police  officer,  or  any  member  of  the  Association 
for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals  (Washington  Humane  So- 
ciety), to  search  such  building  or  place. 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  marshals,  deputy  marshals,  constables, 
police  officers,  or  any  member  of  the  Association  for  the  Prevention  of 
Cruelty  to  vVnynals  (Washington  Humane  Society),  to  prosecute  all 
violations  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act  which  shall  come  to  their 
notice  or  knowledge,  and  fines  and  forfeitures  collected  upon  or  re- 
sulting from  the  comjilaint  or  information  of  any  member  of  the  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals  ( Washington  Humane 
.Society)  under  this  Act  shall  inure  to  and  be  ])aid  over  to  said  associa- 
tion, in  aid  of  the  benevolent  objects  for  which  it  was  incorpo- 
rated.    *     *     * 

"Nothing  in  this  Act  contained  shall  be  construed  to  ])rohibit  or 
interfere  with  any  properly  conducted  scientific  experiments  or  inves- 
tigations, which  experiments  shall  be  performed  only  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  faculty  of  some  regularly  incori)orated  medical  college, 
university  or  scientific  society." 


310 

SO^IE  OF  THE  ETHICAL  ASPECTS  OF  ANIMAL   I;X1M':KT- 

MENTATION. 

By 

W.M.  H.  Arthur,  ]\I.  D.,  F.  A.  C.  S.,  Colonel,  U.  S.  Army,  Retired. 

Medical  Director  Gcorgetoivn   University  Hospital. 
Lale  Couunandant  Army  Medical  School. 

In  a  world  full  of  sickness  and  suffering",  in  which  are  daily 
occurring  many  thousand  premature  and  unnecessary  deaths  ;  with  a 
constant  struggle  going  on  in  the  effort  to  accumulate  money,  which 
is  to-day  the  generally  accepted  measure  of  success,  ihere  are  some 
unselfish  men  who,  giving  up  all  prospect  of  pecuniary  rewards,  or 
of  reputation  outside  the  limits  of  their  own  profession,  are  devoting 
their  lives  to  reducing  the  sum  total  of  human  and  animal  disease, 
alleviating  pain  and  prolonging  life.  The  work  in  this  field  has 
achieved  already  magnificent  results  but  much  yet  remains  to  be 
accomplished.  \'ery  few  people  l^egin  to  realize  what  humanity 
already  owes  to  these  investigators,  past  and  present,  and  will  owe 
to  those  to  come  unless  irresponsible  interference  from  outside  ends 
their  efforts.  Yet  while  the  names  of  great  military  commanders 
or  men  who  have  accumulated  enormous  wealth  are  familiar  to 
everyone,  these  great  benefactors  of  their  kind  are  known  by  name 
only  to  the  medical  profession. 

Let  me  illustrate.  How  many  non-medical  men  or  women  know 
who  Leishman  was  or  Loffler  or  Pasteur  or  Lister  or  Walter  Reed? 
These  men  (and  there  are  many  others)  who  have  conferred  the 
greatest  possible  benefits  on  the  race,  are  little  known  to  the  world 
generally.  Yet  the  first  named,  Leishman,  de\'ised  a  method  of  con- 
trolling the  most  common,  dreaded  and  fatal  of  camp  diseases, 
typhoid  fever,  which  saved  at  least  290.000  of  our  troops  in  the  great 
war,  ten  divisions,  from  three  or  four  months  invalidism,  with 
30,000  deaths.  The  morbidit}^  and  mortality  from  this  disease  that 
would  certainly  have  occurred  in  the  great  army  assembled  for  this 
war  but  for  preventive  inoculation  are  calculated  on  what  actually  did 
take  place  during  the  Spanish  war,  before  this  method  of  preventing 
typhoid  fever  was  discovered  and  introduced.  Loffler  paved  the  way  for 
an  anti-toxin  which  annually  saves  hundreds  of  thousands  of  child- 
ren from  deatli  or  crip])ling  from  diphtheria.  The  combined  work 
of  Pasteur  and  Lister  has  made  modern  surgery  with  all  its  magni- 
ficent triumphs  possible ;  and  the  last,  Walter  Reed  rescued  our 
South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coasts  from  the  annual  terror  of  yellow 
fever,  which  had  ever  since  the  colonization  of  the  country  become 
epidemic  at  frequent  intervals,  killed  thousands  of  people,  and 
demoralized  commerce  every  year  by  the  enforcement  of  the  April 
to  November  cpiarantine.  All  of  these  great  benefits  to  humanity 
would  have  been  impossible  but  for  animal  experimentation. 


311 

The  word  'vivisection'  is  unfortunate,  misleading  and  inapplicable 
to  what  it  is  intended  to  describe.  It  means  simply  cutting  Hving 
tissue.  l-2very  surgical  operation,  involving  the  making  of  an  in- 
cision, is  a  vivisection,  but  it  is  done  under  an  anesthetic,  local  or 
general,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  research  laboratory,  but  the 
word  to  the  sympathetic,  emotional  misinformed  man  or  women 
brings  up  a  vivid  and  distressing  mental  picture  of  a  helpless  animal 
tied  down,  struggling  and  groaning,  while  a  brutal  doctor  tortures 
it,  with  no  other  object  (for  it  is  claimed,  that  no  useful  purpose  is 
accomplished  )  than  the  gratification  of  a  morbid,  insane  pleasure  in 
inflicting  and  witnessing  suffering.  This  is  true  only  of  criminal 
degenerates  and  is  a  very  false  conception  of  what  actually  takes 
place  in  these  laboratories.  Instead  of  "vivisection"  the  term  'animal 
experimentation"  might  be  used,  but  exen  that  does  not  entirely 
cover  the  ground,  for  animals  must  be  used  in  laboratory  diagnosis 
and  in  the  preparation  and  testing  of  certain  anti-toxins,  sera  and 
vaccines,  that  have  long  ago  passed  the  experimental  stage,  and  now 
])rovide  the  sanitarian  and  the  practising  physician  with  their 
most  powerful  means  of  preventing  and  curing  certain  very  fa  al 
infectious  diseases.  Many  thousand  deaths,  now  easily  avoidable, 
would  result  if  the  supply  of  this  material  should  be  cut  off,  as  it 
would  be  if  the  use  of  animals  in  scientific  work  should  be  pro- 
hibited by  law. 

The  suffering  inflicted  in  the  type  of  laljoratorv  under  discussicjn 
is  grossly  exaggerated.  A  \-ery  large  majority  of  the  so-called 
'vivisections'  consist  of  a  j^rick  with  a  hy])odermic  needle  and  an  in- 
jection of  the  material  to  be  tested  or  the  supj^lying  to  or  the  with- 
holding from  animals  of  certain  food  elements.  Anesthetics  are 
always  used  in  ]:)rocedures  that  would  otherwise  inflict  pain. 

I  am  not  myself  and  never  have  been  a  laboratory  investigator, 
but  I  have  had  under  m}-  inspection  and  control  a  number  of 
laboratories  of  this  kind  in  this  country  and  in  the  Philippines,  and 
have  seen  a  great  deal  of  the  work  of  my  subordinates,  and  I  have 
never  witnessed  the  harrowing  scenes  so  graphically  described  by 
the  antivivisectionists,  most  of  whom  have  never  entered  a  labora- 
tory. The  men  engaged  in  this  kind  of  work  are  normal  men,  not 
at  all  lacking  in  the  ordinary  feeling  of  liumanity,  quite  as  merciful 
as  the  average  non-medical  man  of  the  educated  class  immeasurably 
more  merciful  than  the  sjjortsman.  who  hunts  for  his  own  amuse- 
ment, or  the  tra])per  who  catches  animals  to  secure  furs  for  personal 
adornment.  How  often  have  you  heard  a  big  game  hunter  boast, 
that  though  he  failed  to  bring  in  a  deer,  he  is  sure  his  shot  took 
effect,  for  the  animal  limjied  badly  as  it  escajK'd  and  there  was  blood 
on  the  trail?  That  deer  ])robably.  with  a  shattered  hip  or  shoulder 
or  some  even  more  serious  injury,  lingered  for  days  in  intolerable 
suffering,  finally  dying  of  starvation  or  exhaustion.     .\t  the  cost  of 


312 

what  untold  sufferiiii^-  were  secured  llie  furs  of  the  fox.  beaver, 
marten  or  otlier  animal,  that  even  the  most  tender  hearted  anti- 
vivisectionist  does  not  hesitate  to  buy  or  wear?  Yet  what  is  done 
for  sport  or  vanity  seems  io  be  considered  perfecLly  pro])er  and 
natural,  while  great  indignation  is  expressed  at  the  relatively  negli- 
gible suffering  inflicted  in  the  laboratory,  with  the  highest  possible 
moti\e,  the  search  for  means  for  reducing  the  sum  total  of  human 
misery,  and  also  the  suffering  of  other  animals,  for  animal  ex- 
l)erimentation  saves  in  cattle,  swine,  sheep,  poultry  and  dogs,  in- 
finitel}-  more  suffering  than  is  inflicted  on  guinea  pigs,  rabl)its  etc 
in  the  laboratory.  The  bureau  of  animal  industry,  the  farmer,  the 
stock  raiser  or  poultry  man  are  dependent  on  animal  experimenta- 
tion for  the  study  of  animal  diseases.  Any  scientific  veterinarian 
will  bear  me  out  in  this  statement.  It  is  a  very  safe  assertion  that 
the  suffering  inflicted  on  animals  in  the  laboratory  is  infinitesimal 
as  compared  with  the  stift'ering  other  animals  are  saved  as  a  result 
of  this  kind  of  research. 

The  protestants  against  the  use  of  the  lower  animals  in  scientific 
research,  as  well  as  in  diagnosis  and  in  the  prei)aration  and  testing 
of  material  of  thoroughly  j^roven  and  enormous  value,  base  their 
attack  on  two  assertions,  both  false"  First:  That  intolerable  crueltv 
is  wantonl}'  practised  in  the  laboratory.  Second :  That  no  useful 
purpose  has  ever  been  secured  by  this  method  of  research.  As  said 
before,  I  venture  to  assert  that  more  animal  stift'ering  results  from 
one  day's  sport  or  from  a  trapper's  successful  catch,  than  is  inflicted 
in  years  in  the  busiest  research  laboratory.  Yet  no  one.  so  far  as 
I  know,  opposes  big  or  little  game  htuiting,  or  refuses  to  wear  furs, 
because  they  have  been  secured  at  the  cost  of  so  much  suffering ;  for 
imagine  a  fox,  beaver  or  other  animal  caught  in  a  spring  trap,  in 
cold  weather,  with  a  shattered  leg,  slowly  freezing  to  death,  unless 
as  often  happens  the  unfortunate  animal,  to  the  trapper's  disa]")- 
])ointment,  secures  his  freedom  by  gnawing  oft  his  shattered  leg. 
Nothing  comparable  with  that  ever  ha])pens  in  a  laboratory,  but  it  is 
a  common  occiu'rence  in  trapping  fur-bearing  animals. 

The  second  statement  that  nothing  of  im]:)ortance  has  ever  been 
d.eveloped  by  animal  experimentation  can  be  believed  only  by  ])eo])le 
incapable  of  understanding  facts  or  being  convinced)  by  absolute 
i)roof,  or  actual  demonstration.  Idie  whole  science  oi  phvsiology. 
the  stndv  of  the  working  of  the  animal  mechanism,  is  built  up  on 
animal  experimenta.ion.  liut  for  it  we  shoidd  kncnv  nothing  of  tlie 
circulation  of  the  blood,  the  functions  of  the  viscera,  or  the  brain, 
spinal  cord  and  nervous  system  generally.  We  should  be  no  further 
adx'anced  in  knowledge  of  this  subject  than  were  Paracelsus  or 
.\vicenna,  or  than  is  now  the  old  fashi(jned  Chinese  doctor,  who 
teaches  his  students  that  the  intellect  resides  in  the  spleen,  and  the 
soul  in  the  left  kidney.      No  new  drug  used  by  the   ]^hysician   could 


313 

be  safely  employed  in  treating  sick  human  beings,  till  its  effects 
were  tried  out  on  lower  animals.  Anesthesia,  one  of  the  greatest 
of  benefits  to  mankind  ever  devised,  wotild  never  have  been  intro- 
duced and  used  as  it  is  to-day,  with  incalculable  saving  of  suft'ering 
(animal  as  well  as  human)  but  for  the  use  of  animals  in  testing  its 
safety  and  its  g'eneral  eft'ect. 

The  whole  of  bacteriology  and  modern  surgery  have  been  slowly 
workefl  uj)  to  their  present  position  among  the  sciences  bv  animal 
experimentation.  Xo  surgeon  would  dare  to  remove  a  kidney  or 
suture  the  intestine,  no  matter  how  badly  damaged,  unless  it  had  been 
shown  it  could  be  done  in  anesthetized  animals  with  perfect  safety, 
and  without  suft'ering.  Remember,  in  passing,  that  even  if  all  in- 
vestigators in  this  field  were  entirely  devoid  of  the  ordinarv  human 
instincts,  which  of  course  is  nonsense  (what  logicians  call  a  "violent 
supposition")  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  a  delicate  dissection  on 
an  unanesthetized  struggling  animal. 

Aseptic  surgery,  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs  of  modern  times, 
would  be  impossible  without  animal  experiments.  1  am  old  enough 
and  young  enough  to  be  able  to  contrast  the  surgical  conditions  of 
forty  years  ago  with  the  magnificent  surgical  successes  of  to-day, 
impossible  without  animal  experimentation 

The  study  of  the  ultimate  cause  of  diseases,  which  is  the  first  stej) 
in  finding  means  to  prevent  and  cure  them,  has  made  enormous 
progress  but  much  still  remains  to  be  done.  An  intensive  study  is 
going  on  all  over  the  world  to  find  the  cause,  prevention  and  cure 
of  cancer.  There  is  still  much  to  be  learned  of  small-pox.  The 
ultmiate  cause  of  scarlatina,  measles  and  mum])s  arc  unknown,  that 
of  influenza  not  definitely  determined.  There  are  many  other 
problems  of  this  kind  to  be  solved.  Put  a  stop  to  animal  cx])eri- 
mentation  and  the  search  must  be  abandoned.  Incaculable  dis- 
aster to  the  human  race  and  to  the  lower  animals  would  result,  many 
epidemics  now  controllable  would  spread  unchecked.  The  result- 
ing misery  and  death  no  man  can  begin  to  calculate,  and  medical 
progress  would  be  completely  arrested.  It  is  undeniablv  true  that 
medicine  and  surgery  owe  the  bulk  of  what  they  have  accomplished 
in  the  last  fifty  years  to  animal  ex])erimentation. 

Let  me  state  from  my  own  observation  and  ex])erience  what  was 
accomi)lished  in  the  eradication  of  disease  in  the  niili])pines  in  nine 
years,  most  of  it  the  result  of  aniiual  experiments,  and  methods 
developed  and  worked  out  in  the  lalxjratories  of  difi'erent  countries, 
largely  by  animal  exjjerimentation.  When  I  left  Manilla,  after  two 
years  stay  there,  in  1<X)2.  the  hospital  1  commanded  contained  about 
500  very  sick  men  (all  light  or  convalescent  cases  were  sent  to  a 
convalescent  hospital).  These  cases  included  small-pox,  plague, 
beri-beri,  Asiatic  clujlera.  typhoid  fever,  and  a  great  many  of  tropical 
amebic  dysentery.     On  my  relinn  nine  years  later  as  Chief  Snr<'eon 


;314 

of  the  Philippines  I  inspected  the  same  hospital.  There  were  73 
cases  being  treated  then  and  not  one  case  of  communicable  disease. 
The  changed  conditions  were  the  result  of  American  vSanitation, 
inaugurated  by  military  and  carried  on  by  civilian  health  officers,  but 
the  methods  by  which  that  improA-ement  was  made  possible,  were 
the  result,  in  the  final  analysis,  of  animal  experimentation. 

Take  one  disease  as  an  illustration.  Beri-beri  (known  to  medical 
men  as  disseminated  peri|)heral  polyneuritis)  was  a  disease  at  first 
unfamiliar  to  doctors  who  had  had  no  tropical  experience.  It  afifects 
the  nerve  endings,  causes  extensive  paralysis,  and  some  of  the  most 
frightful  cripplings  you  can  imagine.  At  first  this  was  supposed  to 
be  an  infectious  disease.  It  very  rarely  occurred  among  our  troo]:)s, 
but  was  a  scourge  among  the  natives,  and  most  of  them  who  did  not  die 
from  it  would  have  been  much  better  off  if  they  had,  for  many  muscles 
became  ])ermanently  paralyzed,  opposing  muscles  dragged  the  unfortu- 
nate sufiferers  into  the  most  distressing  permanent  contortions.  The 
cases  were  all  isolated,  and  not  one  of  them,  or  very  few,  indeed,  got 
well.  Two  years  later  during  the  Japanese-Russian  War,  the  Ja])anese 
Xavy  sufifered  badly  from  beri-beri.  The  surgeon  general  of  that  serv- 
ice proposed  a  change  of  diet,  and  the  cases  improved  and  new  cases 
ceased  to  appear.  Later  on  the  matter  was  seriously  studied,  and  Ved- 
der,  of  the  U.  S.  Army  ^Medical  Corps,  made  a  series  of  experiments 
on  fowls,  sim])ly  restricting  their  diet  to  polished  rice,  which  forms  the 
bulk  of  the  subsistence  of  the  Filipinos  and  the  Japanese.  He  found 
that  chickens  developed  .symptoms  of  beri-beri  which  ]M-om]:)tly  disap- 
])eared  when  rice  ])olishings  were  added  to  their  diet.  Now  beri-beri 
is  almost  unknown"  in  the  Philippines.  In  three  years  I  spent  there, 
1011-1  ill-!,  I  never  saw  a  single  case.  The  fact  that  it  was  a  dietetic 
disease,  a  deprivation  neuritis,  was  definitely  ])roved  on  a  dozen  fowl, 
and  by  insisting  on  the  natives  eating  uniiolished  rice  the  disease  has 
practically  disappeared,  for  there  is  some  element  in  the  husk  or  the 
pericarp  of  the  rice  grain  that  contains  an  essential  food  ])rinciple, 
found  in  the  ordinary  diet  of  all  persons  except  those  whose  food  is 
almost  entirely  starch.  This  is  a  good  illustration  of  what  may  be 
accomplished  by  animal  experimentation.  Simply  restricting  the  diet 
of  a  few  fowls  for  a  time  proved  positively  the  cause  of  this  disease. 
One  of  the  methods  of  proving  Vedder's  theory  was  to  give  the  fowls 
rice  polishings  as  soon  as  symptoms  of  ]:)aralysis  developed,  when  they 
very  soon  disappeared. 

If  I  were  allowed  thirty  hours  instead  of  thirty  minutes,  I  should 
find  the  time  too  limited  to  enable  me  to  enumerate  and  describe  the 
great  benefits  to  the  race  that  these  great  investigators  have  bestowed 
upon  it  through  animal  experimentation. 

Should  not  every  intelligent  man  or  woman,  worthy  to  be  called 
civilized,  do  all  in  his  power  to  encourage  and  help  these  unselfish 
benefactors  of  the  race?     Can  you  conceive  of  people  calling  them- 


selves  educated  or  intelligent,  so  misguided  as  to  misrepresent,  hamper 
and  even  to  make  every  effort  to  put  a  stop  to  a  kind  of  scientific  work 
that  has  already  conferred  incalculable  benefits  on  the  human  race  and 
domesticated  animals^  and  is  full  of  promise  of  even  more  than  it  has 
already  achieved. 

Yet  there  actually  are  such  people.  If  they  would  confine  them- 
selves to  anything  remotely  resembling  the  actual  facts,  they  could 
easily  be  silenced,  but  they  harrow  up  the  feelings  of  unthinking  emo- 
tional people  with  the  most  absurd  and  extravagant  misstatements. 
Only  a  few  days  ago  in  this  city  one  of  these  propagandists  made  the 
assertion  that  medical  students  were  forced  to  witness  the  torture  of 
dogs,  in  order  to  make  them  callous  to  the  sight  of  suffering,  harden 
them  morally  and  eliminate  all  humane  instincts  from  embryo  medical 
men.  Can  there  be  approximately  intelligent  people,  who  can  listen 
patiently  to  and  even  believe  such  fantastic  nonsense?  The  answer 
is  "no,"  for  to  credit  such  absurdities  is  in  itself  proof  of  the  nonexist- 
ence of  any  intelligence  at  all. 


WHAT  AXniAL  EXPERHIENTATION  HAS  DONE  FOR 
GYNECOLOGY  AND  ABDOMINAL  SURGERY. 

By 

Thomas  S.  Cullen,  ]\I.  D.,  Professor  of  Clinic.\l  Gv^•EC0LO(,^ . 
Johns  Hopkins  Hospital. 

To  discuss  adequately  this  important  subject  would  require  more 
time  than  your  ])atience  would  allow,  and  I  am  reminded  of  the 
statement  made  by  President  Hadley,  of  Yale,  that  no  one  is  converted 
after  twenty  minutes.  Consequently,  in  the  time  at  my  disposal  I 
shall  give  you  only  a  ])anoramic  view  of  the  advances  in  abdominal 
surgery  and  gynecology  during  the  last  thirty  years. 

We  are  continually  reminded  of  the  wonderful  way  in  which 
nature  has  developed  our  bodies,  and  in  no  part  of  the  human  ecotioniy 
is  this  more  evident  than  in  the  abdomen.  It  would  be  impossible  for 
any  man,  no  matter  how  skilled  he  was,  to  pack  away  In  a  small  com- 
partment so  many  vital  structures,  and  to  so  arrange  them  that  no 
one  organ  seems  to  be  crowding  out  the  other. 

If  we  examine  the  abdominal  cavity,  we  find  that  it  is  in  large 
measure  filled  by  the  gastro-intestinal  tract.  The  u])pcr  part  of  this 
is  the  stomach.  Next  comes  the  duodenum  which  is  only  a  few  inches 
long  and  is  continuous  with  the  small  intestine  which  is  many  feet  in 
length.  This,  in  turn,  i)asses  into  the  large  bowel  through  a  valve-like 
opening,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  is  the  ai)i)endix.  The  large  bowel 
is  a  few  feet  in  length  and  terminates  in  the  rectum.  The  intestines 
as  a  whole  are  over  twenty-two  feet  long. 


316 

Occupying  the  right  upper  ahdomen  and  lying  chiefly  under  the 
rihs  is  the  Hver  and  snuggled  up  under  the  edge  of  this  organ  is  the 
gall-bladder.  In  the  left  U])per  abdomen  is  the  s])leen,  and  lying  ])rac- 
tically  behind  the  stomach  is  the  pancreas. 

In  the  female  the  pelvis  contains  the  uterus,  tubes  and  ovaries. 
Lying  outside  the  peritoneal  cavity  on  either  side  are  the  kidneys  and 
from  each  a  small  tube,  the  ureter,  j^asses  downward  to  the  base  of 
the  bladder.     Such  is  the  general  topography  of  the  abdomen. 

Some  of  the  older  members  of  my  audience  will  probably  remember 
that  thirty  years  ago  one  rarely  heard  of  an  abdominal  operation  except 
for  the  removal  of  an  ovarian  cyst.  At  that  time  we  had  cases  of 
tvphilitis,  a  term  used  to  designate  inflammation  around  the  appendix, 
or  were  told  that  a  ])atient  had  liver  trouble  or  an  inflammation  of  the 
gall-bladder,  but  no  operation  was  suggested  or  performed  for  any 
of  these  important  conditions. 

During  those  dreadful  epidemics  of  typhoid  fever  that  from 
time  to  time  passed  over  a  community  like  a  prairie  fire,  a  perforation 
of  a  typhoid  ulcer  was  diagnosed  and  that  meant  almost  certain  death, 
as  the  surgeon  was  unaware  that  operation  could  be  of  any  value. 

As  we  glance  back  to  former  days  we  remember  that  many  of  our 
friends  were  chronic  invalids,  and  we  looked  u])on  their  ])ermanent 
disability  as  a  matter  of  course,  little  realizing  what  might  have  been 
cicccmplished  had  they  the  advantages  of  the  wonderful  advances  in 
abdominal  surgery  made  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  Just 
imagine  the  dilemma  we  should  be  in  today  if  none  of  our  appendix 
or  gall-stone  cases  could  be  oi)erated  u])on ! 

The  normal  appendix  is  about  as  big  around  as  a  small  lead  pencil 
and  varies  from  two  to  three  or  more  inches  in  length.  It  is  a  very 
innocent  looking  object,  and  one  would  not  for  a  moment  think  it 
could  do  harm.  Nevertheless,  it  is  the  "stormy  petrel"  of  the  abdo- 
men. It  is  lined  with  the  same  velvety  membrane  as  that  of  the  large 
bowel,  and  its  lumen  which  is  about  the  size  of  the  lead  in  a  lead 
pencil  is  continuous  with  the  cavity  of  the  bowel.  We  all  know  how 
quickly  a  nostril  will  close  if  we  catch  the  slightest  cold.  If  there  be 
a  slight  inflammation  of  the  large  bowel  this  often  extends  to  the 
ap])endix,  and  its  o])ening  into  the  bowel  speedily  closes.  It  is  now 
a  closed  sac,  and  if  the  inflammation  ])ersists  the  appendix  swells  u]) 
and  finally  gives  way  at  some  point  allowing  its  foul  contents  to  esca])e 
into  the  abdomen.  General  peritonitis  often  results  and  the  i)atient 
dies.  Appendicitis  was  the  "inflammation  of  the  bowels"  of  former 
days. 

Many  of  you  will  doubtless  wonder  why  the  various  stages  in  the 
development  of  aj^pendicitis  were  not  thoroughly  understood  long  be- 
fore, but  when  we  remember  that  abdominal  operations  for  this  con- 
dition were  not  performed  and  that  when  the  abdomen  was  opened 


317 

after  death  in  the  cases  in  which  jieritonitis  had  developed,  jnis  was 
found  everywhere,  we  cannot  wonder  that  the  true  cause  was  usually 
overlooked. 

If  one  is  in  a  house  when  it  catches  fire  he  is  usually  in  a  position 
to  tell  how  it  started,  hut  when  the  whole  building  is  ablaze  when  he 
reaches  the  scene  it  is  very  difficult,  or  impossible,  to  determine  the 
starting  point. 

To  Louis  Pasteur,  the  people  of  the  world  owe  an  eternal  debt  of 
gratitude  for  his  discovery  of  the  usual  causes  of  infection  or  blood 
poisoning ;  it  was  he  who  pointed  the  way  to  avoid  infections.  His 
discovery  was  promptly  embraced  by  Joseph  Lister  who  applied  it  to 
surgery.  As  a  result  of  the  labors  of  these  two  men  it  was  soon 
possible  to  open  an  abdomen  with  little  or  no  fear  of  subsequent  infec- 
tion. This  opened  up  to  the  surgeon  an  entirely  new  field,  one  here- 
tofore in  large  measure  forbidden  ground.  It  likewise  enabled  him  to 
explore  the  abdominal  cavity  in  very  early  stages  of  various  abdominal 
diseases.  He  was  thus  not  only  able  to  follow  the  disease  from  its 
beginning  but,  what  was  more  important,  was  often  able,  figuratively 
speaking,  to  confine  the  fire  to  one  room  and  to  extinguish  it  eltectually. 

When  a  new  country  is  thrown  ojjen  to  the  public  the  desirable 
farm  land  is  soon  taken.  Small  villages  spring  up,  roads  are  located, 
and  in  due  course  the  community  is  thoroughly  organized  and  takes  its 
proper  place  in  the  State.  Precisely  the  same  thing  has  taken  place 
in  abdominal  surgery.  At  first  the  appendix  and  gall-bladder  were 
given  special  attention  because  in  these  originate  the  two  most  impor- 
tant and  most  frequent  abdominal  maladies  that  the  abdominal  surgeon 
has  to  deal  with.  After  these  had  been  thoroughly  mastered  other  and 
less  frequent  abdominal  diseases  were  given  due  consideration. 

Perha))s  I  may  be  able  in  a  few  words  to  give  you  a  com])rchen- 
sive  idea  of  the  more  common  abdominal  conditions  with  which  the 
surgeon  has  to  deal. 

In  the  stomach  we  have  ulcers.  These  may  cause  alarming  hem- 
orrhage or  perforation  may  occur.  The  surgeon  makes  an  opening 
between  the  stomach  and  intestine  in  such  a  way  that  the  food  does 
not  pass  the  ulcer.  This  leaves  it  quiescent  and  gives  it  a  chance  to 
heal.  If  a  perforation  has  occurred,  he  at  once  sews  up  the  hole  and 
drains  the  abdominal  cavity  to  get  rid  of  the  stomach  contents  that 
have  esca])ed. 

When  cancer  of  the  stomach  is  detected  early  he  removes  a  por- 
tion of  this  organ  and  usually  attaches  the  remaining  part  of  the  stom- 
ach to  the  intestine,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  contents  can  readily 
pass  along  their  way. 

Ulcer  of  the  duodenum  is  of  common  occurrence.  Here  i)racti- 
cally  the  same  oj)eration  is  ])er formed  as  for  ulcer  of  the  stomach. 

Throughout  various  portions  of  the  small  and  large  intestine 
tumors  may  develop.     The  necessary  segment  of  the  bowel  is  cut  out. 


318 

the  cut  ends  are  approximated,  and  in  many  cases  the  patient  makes 
a  perfect  recovery. 

In  the  female  we  often  find  pus  in  the  tubes  connected  with  the 
uterus,  and  it  is  usually  necessary  to  remove  these  if  the  patient  is  to 
regain  her  health.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  pus  tubes  are  infinitely 
less  frequent  in  the  well-to-do  than  they  were  a  decade  ago.  This  is 
undoubtedly  due  to  the  bettei"  education  of  tiie  public  and  to  the  fact 
that  women  in  the  higher  walks  of  life  will  have  nothing  to  do  WMth 
their  husbands  if  the  latter  be  infected.  The  next  decade  will  un- 
doubtedly show  the  same  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  women  in  other 
walks  of  life.  These  facts  were  emi)hasized  by  Dr.  Roland  Hill  in 
his  recent  Presidential  address  delivered  before  the  Western  Surgical 
Association  in  Kansas  City.     They  are  most  significant. 

Uterine  and  ovarian  tumors  in  their  development  often  push  the 
blood  vessels,  the  tubes  from  the  kidneys  to  the  bladder  and  other 
structures,  far  out  of  place  so  that  the  surgeon  finds  it  difficult  to  get 
his  landmarks.  In  such  cases  he  is  often  like  the  mariner  traversing 
an  uncharted  sea.  Sometimes  the  tumors  reach  a  very  large  size  and 
grow  so  fast  to  the  intestines  and  large  blood  vessels  that  it  is  necessary 
to  remove  parts  of  the  intestine  and  occasionally  portions  of  the  impor- 
tni-.t  blood  vessels  together  with  the  growth. 

Now  and  again  a  crisis  arises  and  almost  certain  disaster  seems 
imminent.  It  is  then  that  the  surgeon  nuist  act  with  instant  decision 
and  with  the  utmost  coolness.  He  cannot  back  out,  and  any  minute 
mav  be  on  the  rocks.  When  in  such  a  iM"edicament  I  have  been  re- 
minded of  the  man  in  the  signal  tower.  The  limited  was  coming 
rapidly  toward  him  and  beyond  control.  A  moment's  delay  and  a 
head-on  collision  would  occur.  He  thought  quickly — 'better  one  wreck 
than  two' — pulled  the  lever  and  sent  the  limited  into  a  mud  bank. 

No  man  has  any  right  to  do  abdominal  surgery  unless  he  is  ])re- 
pared  to  do  any  abdominal  operation  that  may  be  necessary,  and 
unless  he  is  ready  to  cope  with  any  abdominal  emergency  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice,  ^'ou  may  be  able  to  duplicate  a  train — you  can  never 
reproduce  the  same  individual. 

An  abdominal  surgeon  must  in  the  first  place  be  a  man  with  a  good 
fundamental  knowledge  of  medicine.  He  must  be  a  good  diagnosti- 
cian ;  he  must  be  thoroughly  fann'liar  with  the  gross  appearance  of  all 
abdonfinal  lesions  and  also  with  the  a])pearance  of  these  structures 
under  the  microscope.  He  must  be  a  good  bacteriologist  so  that  he  can 
carry  out  the  techni(|ue  of  the  operation  in  such  a  way  that  there  will 
be  little  or  no  chance  of  subsequent  infection. 

He  must  be  able  to  join  uj)  intestines  so  that  they  will  not  leak  or 
will  not  allow  gas  to  escape.  He  nuist  be  able  to  join  blood  vessels  so 
securely  that  the  blood  stream  will  be  continuous,  and  he  must  approxi- 
mate parts  in  such  a  manner  that  they  are  left  perfectly  smooth.     In 


319 

short,  in   addition  to  his   scientific  quahfications  he  must  be  a  good 
plumber  and  gas  fitter,  and  a  first-class  tailor. 

The  successful  surgeon  does  not  confine  his  knowledge  to  medicine 
and  surgery  alone,  but  embraces  every  opportunity  to  learn  all  he  can 
about  business  in  general,  and  especially  concerning  manufacturing 
plants  of  all  sorts.  In  this  way  he  picks  up  many  points  that  are  in- 
valuable to  him  in  his  chosen  field.  Above  all  a  liberal  supply  of  good 
horse  sense  is  his  most  valuable  asset. 

Problems. 

Nearly  all  manufacturing  plants  retain  a  corps  of  experts  who  are 
continually  on  the  look  out  for  new  things  and  who  are  suggesting  new 
methods  whereby  the  existing  products  are  improved  and  produced  with 
less  cost.  Precisely  the  same  applies  to  abdominal  surgery.  Our 
methods  are  as  a  result  of  experiments  rendered  more  effective  and 
as  a  result  of  animal  experimentation  we  are  rapidly  reducing  the 
cost — in  lives. 

The  experimental  intestinal  work  of  Halstead,  Mall,  Murphy  and 
others  upon  dogs  has  been  of  the  greatest  value.  They  have  given 
us  methods  of  so  bringing  the  bowel  ends  together  that  we  now  rarely 
have  a  leak  after  the  ends  have  been  approximated. 

As  a  result  of  experimental  work  we  are  now  able  to  bring  to- 
gether the  ends  of  blood  vessels  with  the  assurance  that  the  blood  will 
continue  to  pass  normally  through  this  spliced  vessel. 

In  some  operations  the  tube  from  the  kidney  to  the  bladder  has 
been  cut  across  during  the  operation,  not  through  any  fault  of  the 
operator,  but  because  it  has  been  carried  far  from  its  normal  position, 
by  a  tumor.  As  a  result  of  experimentation  on  animals  we  now  know 
how  to  join  up  effectually  the  ends  of  the  cut  tube  and  thus  save  the 
kidney  which  would  otherwise  have  to  be  sacrificed. 

In  former  days  when  a  patient  had  a  strangulated  hernia  which 
had  existed  for  four  or  five  days  he  would  usually  die  even  after  we 
had  released  the  bow^l.  Animal  exi)erimentation  has  taught  us  that 
the  death  was  due  to  poisons  absorbed  from  the  temi)orarily  paralyzed 
bowel.  We  now  open  the  bowel  above  the  point  of  the  hernia,  allow 
the  poisonous  intestinal  contents  to  escape  and  achieve  success  where 
failure  usually   followed 

As  a  result  of  ex])erimcnts  on  animals  we  have  learned  that  chlo- 
roform causes  widespread  necrosis  of  tlie  liver;  hence  this  anesthetic 
has  been  practically  discarded  in  this  country,  except  in  obstetrical 
cases  where  it  is  emi)loyed  only  for  a  few  moments. 

As  a  result  of  exj^eriments  on  animals  w^e  have  been  able  to  dis- 
cover how  much  intestine  can  be  removed  and  the  patient  still  live. 

As  a  result  of  ex])erimentation  a  knowledge  of  the  stomach  juices 
was  learned. 


These  are  but  a  few  of  the  fundamental  truths  that  have  been 
ascertained  as  a  resuh  of  operations  on  animals — truths  that  have 
enabled  the  surgeon  to  save  myriads  of  lives. 

The  question  is  often  asked.  "Why  use  the  dog?"  In  many 
laboratory  experiments  mice,  rats,  guinea-pigs,  rabbits  and  otlier  ani- 
mals have  been  employed.  In  experimental  work  dealing  with  the 
advancement  of  abdominal  surgery  we  have  to  use  a  larger  animal,  an 
animal  whose  abdominal  organs  resemble  in  some  degree  those  of  the 
human  being,  and  the  dog  is  the  only  animal  that  we  can  satisfactorily 
employ. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  describe  briefly  the  method  of  0])erating 
on  dogs.  The  instruments  are  carefully  sterilized  by  boiling.  The 
sponges  and  dressings  are  prepared  in  precisely  the  same  manner  that 
they  are  in  a  hospital  operating  room.  The  operator  and  his  assist- 
ants scrub  up  and  go  through  the  same  solutions  that  they  employ  in 
prej)aring  for  a  regular  abdominal  operation.  A  trained  assistant  is 
selected  to  ])ut  the  dog  to  sleej^  and  the  abdominal  j^rej^aration  of  the 
animal  is  carried  out  with  the  utmost  care. 

Tlie  operation  itself  is  carried  out  with  the  same  precision  that 
is  in  vogue  in  any  well-organized  operating  room,  and  the  operator 
is  keen  to  see  if  he  can  successfully  perform  the  new  operation  that 
will  in  the  future  enable  him  to  relieve  conditions  in  the  human  being 
that  have  heretofore  baffled  the  surgeons. 

As  soon  as  the  operation  has  been  completed  the  dog  is  placed 
in  a  comfortable  cage  and  given  morphia  or  some  other  drug  that  will 
in  large  measure  relieve  his  suffering.  His  diet  is  also  carefully  super- 
vised until  he  is  able  to  be  uj)  and  around  again.  This  scru])ulous  care 
of  the  animal  is  absolutely  essential  otherwise  many  of  these  valuable 
and  successful  experiments  would  end  in  faihtre. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  when  the  animal  operating  room  at 
the  Rockefeller  Institute  w^as  established,  the  head  nurse  of  one  of  the 
best  operating  rooms  in  the  country  was  selected  to  take  charge  of  this 
department. 

When  a  physician  who  was  visiting  the  Rockefeller  Institute 
dropped  in  to  see  the  dogs  that  had  been  operated  on  they  immediately 
started  to  bark  furiously,  but  as  soon  as  the  surgeon  who  had  per- 
formed the  operations  and  watched  them  subsequently,  appeared  their 
barking  ceased  and  the  dogs  wagged  their  tails  furiously.  The  dogs, 
of  course,  did  not  know  that  the  surgeon  had  produced  their  suffering. 
They  were  asleep.  They  only  knew  that  he  had  been  kind  to  them 
w^hen  suffering.     Further  comment  is  unnecessary. 

The  Training  of  Young  Surgeons. — The  ])ublic  has  a  right  to  de- 
mand the  best  surgical  service  obtainable.  In  the  early  days  many 
a  man  after  years  of  general  practice  gradually  drifted  into  o])erating. 
The  surgery  of  today  requires  such  perfection  in  diagnosis,  such  a 
knowledge  of  pathology,  operative  technique  and  after  treatment  that 


321 

the  embryo  surgeon  must  after  spending  one  or  two  years  in  a  medical 
clinic  start  at  the  bottom  rung  of  the  surgical  ladder  and  work  up. 
He  will  begin  as  a  junior  assistant  taking  histories  on  the  wards,  mak- 
ing the  necessary  routine  laboratory  examinations,  handling  instru- 
ments at  operations,  and  in  looking  after  the  patients  that  have  been 
operated  upon.  After  a  year  in  such  work  he  may  become  a  second 
assistant.  His  responsibilities  are  now  greater,  and  he  may  be  allowed 
to  do  minor  operations.  \\'hen  he  has  won  his  spurs  he  is  advanced 
to  be  first  assistant,  and  finally  becomes  the  resident  surgeon  in  the 
hospital. 

The  assistant  learns  much  from  his  chief,  and  in  due  time  is  able 
to  perform  complicated  operations,  but  there  are  some  that  he  can 
rarely  if  ever  successfully  perform  the  first  time.  This  is  perfectly 
natural.  The  plumber's  assistant  might  watch  his  employer  success- 
fully weld  joints  for  months  without  being  able  to  do  so  himself.  In 
order  to  become  a  master  plumber  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  do  some 
of  the  welding  himself,  and  some  of  his  first  attempts  in  this  direction 
are  doomed  to  failure.  With  the  plumber's  apprentice  this  does  not 
matter  much  ;  he  can  try  over  again,  and  if  necessary  secure  new  pipes. 
\\'hen  the  surgical  assistant  attempts  for  the  first  time  to  bring  the  two 
ends  of  a  bowel  together  and  so  suture  them  that  the  joint  is  absolutely 
water  and  air  tight  he  is  often  doomed  to  failure  and  the  patient,  if 
a  human  being,  usually  succumbs.  It  is  essential  that  he  do  the  opera- 
tion on  dogs  first  and  after  from  one  to  four  or  five  trials  he  can  with 
ease  make  a  perfect  joint. 

The  same  applies  where  he  has  to  join  up  the  small  tube  that  con- 
nects the  kidney  with  the  bladder.  It  also  is  applicable  in  several  other 
abdominal  emergencies. 

When  we  look  at  the  subject  squarely  it  resolves  itself  into  this — - 
in  the  first  few  operations  in  which  abdominal  tubes  are  to  be  joined 
up  failures  are  bound  to  result  and  death  ensues.  Is  it  better  to  lose  a 
few  dogs  or  a  corresponding  number  of  people  while  the  surgeon  is 
securing  the  necessary  skill  in  the  performance  of  these  important 
and  difficult  procedures  ? 

Surgeons  are  often  thought  to  be  lacking  in  sympathy,  but  I  have 
never  met  a  more  warm-hearted  group  of  men.  The  nature  of  their 
calling,  however,  does  not  allow  them  to  let  their  feelings  run  away 
with  their  judgment.  They  are  often  called  upon  to  operate  upon 
their  nearest  and  dearest  relatives,  at  times  not  knowing  whether  they 
will  be  able  to  get  them  ofif  the  table  alive.  There  is  nothing  in  this 
world  that  pulls  harder  on  the  heart  strings  of  any  man  thati  such  an 
ordeal,  and  yet  throughout  the  entire  o])eration  the  surgeon  must  com- 
bine consummate  judgment  with  absolute  coolness,  otherwise  he  can- 
not do  his  best.  There  is  little  wonder  that  the  bu.sy  surgeon  nuist 
take  frequent  vacations  otherwise  he  would  snap  under  the  strain. 

To  physicians  and  surgeons  the  innermost  life  of  the  communiu-  is 


:vi2 


laid  bare.  The  veneer  and  camouflage  of  society  are  torn  aside,  and 
the  true  Hfe  of  society  as  it  actually  is  stands  out  in  bold  relief  before 
him.  Could  any  man  excei)t  one  with  a  heart  of  stone  under  such 
circumstances  fail  to  develop  to  a  large  degree  an  unbounded  sympathy 
with  mankind  ? 

All  surgeons  have  been  small  boys,  and  it  is  the  exception  to  find 
a  lad  who  does  not  love  animals  and  above  all  dogs.  Well  do  I 
remember  the  mongrel  dog  that  was  my  boon  companion,  just  after  I 
had  learned  to  toddle  around.  The  pranks  of  my  large  New  Found- 
land  dog,  Ponto,  will  always  linger  in  my  memory. 

That  si)lendid  thorough-bred  collie,  Toby,  was  a  delight  to  us  all, 
but  like  some  of  his  race  he  occasionally  exhibited  diabolical  qualities, 
and  like  a  flash  would  bite  members  of  the  family.  In  a  moment  his 
anger  subsided,  and  for  days  he  would  in  every  way  manifest  his  sor- 
row for  the  outburst.  When  it  became  necessary  to  put  him  to  sleep 
on  account  of  his  being  a  menace  to  the  neighbors  there  was  a  sadness 
in  the  family  akin  to  the  loss  of  one's  very  own. 

Late  one  warm  July  night  in  l*)Ofi,  long  after  we  had  retired  the 
door  bell  rang,  and  the  expressman  brought  in  a  small  crate.  On 
opening  the  door  of  this  a  small,  shaggy  mite  four  weeks  old  and  not 
over  six  inches  long  toddled  out.  At  first  he  was  very  shy,  but  after 
drinking  a  saucer  of  milk  became  friendly  In  a  few  diys  he  owned 
the  house.  He  had  the  usual  children's  diseases,  such  as  distem])er 
and  intestinal  upsets,  and  in  each  of  these  was  tenderly  nursed. 

Like  all  young  children  he  manifested  a  tendency  to  run  away^ 
and  on  one  occasion  was  missing  for  tw^o  days.  Scotties  are  no  beau- 
ties, and  an  advertisement  for  "an  ugly-looking  little  black  dog" 
brought  him  back  promptly.  When  four  or  five  years  old  he  was  des- 
perately ill,  and  we  feared  for  his  life.  He  was  at  once  taken  over 
to  the  Hunterian  Laboratory— the  dog  hospital  of  the  Johns  Hopkins 
Medical  School— and  i)ut  under  the  care  of  the  young  surgeon  in 
charge.  Appropriate  treatment  was  at  once  instituted,  and  when  we 
left  iiim  there,  those  wistful  and  pleading  eyes  followed  us  to  the  door. 
No  human  being  could  have  spoken  more  plainly.  Next  morning  we 
went  over  to  the  hospital  expecting  to  find  him  dead.  Imagine  our 
joy  and  surprise  to  see  him  running  around  the  cage  and  wagging  his 
tail  furiously. 

One  summer  we  went  to  Europe  and  he  was  put  out  to  bo'ird  ( 'n 
our  return  a  more  seedy  and  bedraggled  little  animal  could  not  be 
found.  That  settled  it,  he  has  his  own  trunk,  and  each  year  he  travels 
with  the  family  to  the  back  ^voods  of  Canada  where  for  two  months  he 
is  continually  busy  in  chasing  chipmunks,  digging  holes  and  m  locating 
bones  that  he  had  buried  in  previous  years. 

For  a  long  period  he  and  I  lived  alone,  and  each  night  he  was  faith- 
fully waiting  for  me  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  each  night  he  and  I 
went  for  a  w^alk  before  retiring.     Sometimes,  when  an  emergency  op- 


323 


eration  has  detained  nie  late  into  the  night,  our  stroll  has  been  deferred 
until  1  or  2  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  he  never  misses  it  when  I  am 
home. 

Killie  is  now  nearly  fourteen  years  old.  He  cannot  climb  as  he 
once  could,  he  has  a  cataract  in  one  eye,  and  he  is  an  old  man,  but  he 
is  still  an  inseparable  member  of  the  family  and  beloved  by  all.  He 
has  brought  untold  happiness  to  the  household  and  is  a  most  valued 
friend.     As  I  write  this  he  is  lying  at  my  feet. 

If  one  of  my  family  were  desperately  ill,  and  if  it  were  necessary 
to  try  some  animal  experiment  with  the  hope  of  saving  their  life,  and 
if  it  were  impossible  to  secure  another  dog  for  the  purpose,  then  I 
should  with  great  reluctance  be  frDrced  to  operate  on  Killie.  Physi- 
cians and  surgeons  in  the  past  have  not  only  risked  but  given  their  lives 
for  their  ])atients  and  will  continue  to  do  so  in  the  future.  We  can 
well  imagine  the  agony  in  the  heart  of  Abraham  when  he  was  prepar- 
ing to  offer  up  his  son,  Isaac,  as  a  sacrifice. 

When  considering  the  subject  of  vivisection  I  am  continuallv  re- 
minded of  the  woman  who  was  visiting  an  asylum.  In  her  curiosity 
she  opened  a  door  and  saw  a  man  riding  a  broomstick.  Though  some- 
what startled  she  said  "I  see  you  are  riding  a  horse."  The  man  replied, 
"No,  it  is  a  hobby,  if  it  were  a  horse  I  could  get  oft."  ^^'e  all  have 
our  hobbies,  or  should  have  them.  It  is  the  man  or  woman  who  has 
a  hobby  that  accom])lishes  things,  but  in  following  out  our  hobbies 
let  us  view  the  subject  from  every  standpoint,  let  us  see  if  we  are  on  the 
right  track. 

In  the  Hunterian  Laboratory  at  Hopkins  and  catching  ones  eye  as 
he  enters  the  building  is  a  conspicuous  list  of  rules  which  are  and  have 
been  rigidly  enforced  for  years.  Among  other  rules  is  the  following: 
"Any  attendant  who  strikes  a  dog  is  to  be  discharged  at  once."  Every 
precaution  for  the  humane  treatment  of  animals  has  been  scrupulously 
observed. 

We  should  be  as  careful  and  considerate  of  animals  as  we  are  of 
])eo])le,  Init  if  by  the  experimentation  on  a  few  animals  we  can  save 
many  lives,  is  it  not  our  duty  to  do  so?  Would  you  be  willing  to  lose 
one  of  your  dear  ones  rather  than  have  the  surgeon  sacrifice  a  few 
dogs — you  certainly  would  not  when  the  acid  test  came 

What  would  you  think  of  an  ap])renticc  carjienter  being  given 
valuable  mahogany  to  work  on.  Y(ju  would  consider  it  al)sur(l.  He 
should  practice  on  the  cheapest  kind  of  Iniiibn-  until  he  has  gained 
sufficient  skill  to  handle  ade(|uately  the  rare  and  more  costly  woods. 
Human  beings  are  the  mahogany  of  surgery. 

Why  is  it  that  American  surgeons  when  ill  abroad  and  needing 
surgical  oi">erations,  if  possible,  take  the  first  boat  for  America?  It  is 
because  they  feel  that  they  can  get  better  surgical  treatment  in  this 
country  than  an\  where  else  in  the  world.     The  wonderful  advances  in 


324 

American  surgery  have  in  no  small  measure  been  due  to  the  careful 
and  painstaking  animal  experiments  carried  on  in  the  United  States. 

The  people  of  the  world  owe  a  tremendous  debt  to  Louis  Pasteur, 
to  Joseph  Lister  and  to  the  results  of  animal  experimentation.  Myri- 
ads of  useful  men  and  women,  now  alive  and  well,  would  have  long 
since  passed  to  their  eternal  resting  place  had  it  not  been  for  the  funda- 
mental discoveries  of  Pasteur  and  Lister,  and  for  the  new  and  better 
methods  revealed  to  us  by  experiments  on  dogs. 

The  citizens  of  the  United  States,  when  ill,  rely  absolutely  on  the 
judgment  of  their  surgeon  and  place  themselves  and  their  families 
under  the  care  of  these  surgeons,  knowing  full  well  that  they  will 
receive  the  best  possible  surgical  care.  Such  being  the  case,  the  public 
can  with  confidence  rely  on  the  surgeon  to  be  careful,  conscientious 
and  humane  in  his  experimentation  on  dogs,  which  is  absolutely  essen- 
tial to  the  continued  advancement  of  this  important  branch  and  to 
^Medicine  as  a  whole. 


ACPIIEVEMENTS  OF  ANIMAL  EXPERIMENTATION  IN 
GENERAL  SURGERY. 

By 

George  Tullv  Vaughan,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  E.  A.  C.  S. 
Professor  of  Surgery,  Geor(jeto%<.'n  University. 

Man  in  the  beginning  was  given  control  of  all  inferior  animals 
for  use,  but  not  for  abuse,  and  this  right  to  use  extends  to  confining 
the  animals  in  captivity,  making  them  work  for  him,  and  even  taking 
their  lives  for  any  good  and  sufficient  reason. 

Man  gives  his  own  life  and  often  sustains  great  hardship  and  suf- 
fering in  supi^ort  of  a  worthy  cause,  or  for  the  benefit  of  his  kind  ; 
then  why  should  he  hesitate  to  use  the  lower  animals,  who  have  been 
given  into  his  keeping,  for  any  worthy  purpose  ? 

I  am  as  much  ojiposed  to  cruelty  in  the  true  meaning  of  that  word 
as  the  most  violent  and  senseless  antivivisectionist,  but  the  use  of  ani- 
mals and  their  sacrifice  at  times  even  with  suflfering,  when  done  for 
the  benefit  of  the  human  race,  is  not  cruelty. 

I  have  read  a  number  of  attacks  on  all  who  believe  in  the  ])rin- 
ciples  I  have  just  stated,  and  especially  on  the  members  of  the  medical 
profession,  but  the  most  remarkable  and  amusing  of  them  all  is  a  book 
by  Stephen  Coleridge. 

Stephen  Coleridge,  in  his  book  entitled  "Vivisection — A  Heartless 
Science,"  19 1(5,  feels  it  his  duty  to  attack  vivisection  as  he  is  a  repre- 
sentative in  the  fourth  generation  from  the  one  who  wrote  the  "An- 


325 

cient  ^Mariner,"  and  modestly  continues,  "I  may  claim  with  some  par- 
donable pride  to  have  acquired  my  convictions  from  three  generations 
of  ancestors,  whose  title  to  distinction  in  the  fields  of  law  and  letters 
cannot  be  gainsaid." 

After  reading  his  book  one  is  com]:)elled  to  believe  that  however 
much  he  may  know  of  "law  and  letters,"  his  knowledge  of  physiologv 
is  woefully  deficient.  To  select  one  from  the  numerous  examples  of 
erroneous  deduction,  ignorantly  or  wilfully  made,  read  his  criticism  of 
certain  experiments  made  on  animals  by  keeping  them  continually  under 
the  influence  of  alcohol,  as  showing  his  idea  of  cruelty  : 

"Surely  it  is  time  that  all  decent  men  and  women  in  England  raised 
their  voices  in  solemn  protest  against  these  dreadful  claims  of  physi- 
ology, claims  that  revolt  the  heart  and  shock  the  conscience." 

Coming  from  a  man  of  such  pride  in  his  logic,  education,  and 
hereditary  convictions,  this  hysterical  outburst  is  surprising  over  a 
condition  in  which  the  animal  is  blissfully  unconscious  of  worry  and 
certainly  free  from  all  pain. 

The  issue,  he  writes,  is  "whether  vivisection  as  practiced  is  right, 
not  whether  it  is  useful  to  science." 

What  sophistry — the  killing  of  a  man  in  the  abstract  is  not  right, 
yet  it  is  universally  conceded  that  circumstances  often  make  it  right. 
He  attacks  the  support  or  aid  of  medical  schools  by  hospitals,  criticiz- 
ing Lord  Lister's  approval,  and  pays  his  respects  especially  to  the 
affairs  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  conclusive  evidence  that  he  fails 
to  see  the  benefit  which  the  schools  with  their  students  and  physicians 
bring  to  the  hospital,  and  showing  his  prejudiced  and  distorted  opinion 
of  the  medical  profession. 

The  deductions  from  Sir  Victor  Horsley's  answers  to  questions 
by  the  Royal  Commission  on  Vivisection  are  unfair  and  unwarranted  ; 
the  insinuation  that  men  like  Brunton,  Powers,  Schaefer,  ^lorris, 
Swazey,  Bruce,  Osier  and  others  obtained  their  honors  by  practicing 
or  sup])orting  what  he  regards  as  an  infamous  practice,  is  slanderous; 
but  the  tribute  to  the  leading  lights  of  science  in  America,  in  the  sug- 
gestion that  asses'  ears  be  grafted  on  the  heads  of  the  o])erators,  is 
anuising,  as  the  idea  instantly  occurs  to  the  reader  that  the  head  of 
the  author  would  be  much  more  approj^riate  for  adornment  with  these 
emblems  of  unreasonable  obstinacy  and  stupidity. 

To  read  the  author's  own  account  of  how  he  has  ])unctured  the 
inflated  arguments  of  his  o])])oncnts  with  his  irresistible  logic,  marks 
him  as  a  regular  Boanerges  in  control  of  the  lightning  and  thunder, 
and  to  oppose  his  judgment  or  opinion  is  to  invite  destruction. 

The  charge  of  mcgalocephaly  ( bigheadedness)  made  against  Sir 
Tulward  Schaefer  is  another  instance  of  transferring  one's  own  ])ecu- 
liaritics  to  the  shoulders  of  another.  The  entire  tone  of  the  book  forces 
the  conclusion  that  the  author  is  a  man  whose  .self-conceit  is  colossal, 
whose  skill  in  distorting  language  from  its  honest  meaning  to  suit  his 


326 


purpose  is  phenomenal,  but  whose  faith  in  the  integrity  of  those  who 
differ  with  him  is  pitiable,  and  whose  logic  is  ridiculous. 

Let  us  hear  now  some  of  truth  and  soberness:  After  the  Roval 
Commission  on  \'ivisection  had  concluded  its  sessions  and  the  examina- 
tion of  numerous  advocates  and  opponents  of  vivisection,  the  Earl  of 
Cromer,  who  might  be  regarded  as  an  unprejudiced  party,  thus  ex- 
presses his  opinions  : 

"I  felt  strongly  that  the  vivisectionists  and  not  their  o]:)])onents 
were  the  true  humanitarians.  *  *  *  The  argument  that  the  re- 
searches of  the  vivisectionists  have  been  barren  of  results  ought  to  be 
finally  discarded  by  all  save  those  who  are  not  open  to  conviction. 
*  *  *  The  case  of  the  antivivisectionists,  when  submitted  to  the 
test  of  cross-examination,  broke  down  helplessly." 

A  word  now  regarding  some  of  the  benefits  we  enjoy  from  animal 
ex])erimentation. 

Seventy-five  years  ago  little  was  known  as  to  the  exact  relations 
between  the  anatomy  and  the  functions  of  the  brain,  spinal  cord  and 
nerves.  Watson  in  1845  (Head)  said:  "The  structure  of  the  nervous 
system  has  no  perceptible  or  understood  subservience  to  its  functions," 
and  he  believed  that  the  brain  was  the  seat  of  a  sort  of  generalized 
function  with  no  special  centers.  Now  we  know,  thanks  to  the  experi- 
ments of  Ferrier,  Hitzig,  Sherrington,  Greenbaum  and  others,  on  the 
brains  of  monkeys  that  every  motion  and  sensation  in  the  body  has 
its  center  or  little  group  of  cells  in  the  brain  which  control  it,  so  that 
any  stimulation  or  injury  to  that  center  in  the  brain  is  shown  by  a 
certain  sensation  or  movement  of  the  muscles  of  the  part  so  controlled. 
It  is  an  ordinary  event  now,  in  injury  or  disease  of  the  brain  for  the 
surgeon  by  observing,  for  example,  movements  or  paralysis  of  the- 
muscles  of  the  foot,  hand,  eye,  mouth,  etc.,  to  know  exactly  in  what 
part  of  the  brain  to  look  for  the  blood  clot,  tumor  or  whatever  may 
be  causing  the  trouble. 

This  was  illustrated  in  the  case  of  a  prominent  presidential  candi- 
date, when  twitchings  or  paralysis  began  in  one  of  his  feet,  the  surgeon 
knew  just  where  to  look  for  the  cause  in  the  brain,  namely,  the  center 
controlling  that  foot,  so  he  opened  the  skull  and  found  and  removed 
a  tumor. 

It  was  Charles  Bell's  experiments  on  a  donkey  about  ISll  that 
established  the  difference  in  function  between  the  fifth  and  seventh 
cranial  nerves  and  thus  enabled  us  to  oix-rate  successfully  on  thousands 
of  cases  of  neuralgia  of  the  face. 

The  surgery  of  the  thyroid  gland  and  the  intelligent  treatment  of 
goitre  was  worked  out  by  animal  experimentation  ;  even  great  anato- 
mists like  Luschka  having  no  appreciation  of  the  functions  of  the 
thyroid  or  jjarathyroid  glands  and  their  im])ortant  relation  to  life  and 
health.  In  the  first  operations  sometimes  all  of  the  thyroid  and  i)ara- 
thyroid  glands  were  removed,  when  the  patient  either  died  in  convul- 


327 

sions  or  lived  a  short,  crippled  life  with  bloated  features,  cold  and 
thickened  skin,  intellectual  stupidity,  ending  in  imbecility.  By  investiga- 
tion on  animals  it  was  found  that  when  all  of  the  parathyroids  were 
removed,  the  animal  dies  of  tetany,  so  that  now  in  surgical  operations 
for  goitre  we  are  always  careful  to  leave  at  least  one  parathyroid  gland. 

Before  removing  the  larynx  for  cancer  in  man,  Czerny  experi- 
mented on  dogs  and  found  that  they  survived  the  operation  and  con- 
tinued in  good  health  and  now  it  is  an  established  life-saving  opera- 
tion for  man. 

Likewise  Simon  in  1869,  before  removing  a  kidney  from  man, 
established  the  fact  that  dogs  survived  the  loss  of  one  kidney  without 
any  detriment  to  their  health,  and  that  is  now  a  very  common  opera- 
tion for  malignant  tumors,  tuberculosis,  abscess,  stone,  etc..  and  the 
man  lives  and  enjoys  life  seemingly  as  well  ofif  with  one  kidney  as 
with  two. 

In  18()7  (Oilier  proved  by  experiments  on  animals  that  bone  or 
periosteum  would  live  and  grow  and  make  new  bone  if  transplanted 
from  one  ])art  to  another  of  the  same  animal,  or  if  transplanted  from 
one  animal  to  another  animal.  From  the  knowledge  obtained  in  this 
manner  have  come  the  numerous  and  wonderful  operations  on  bones. 

In  olfler  times  surgeons  could  make  a  new  nose  (for  one  whose 
nose  had  been  destroyed)  by  turriing  a  flap  down  from  his  forehead  or 
getting  a  flaj)  from  his  arm.  but  it  was  a  soft,  mushy  nose.  Now, 
when  this  is  necessary,  we  trans])Iant  a  ])iece  of  bone  to  stiffen  the 
soft  ])arts,  obtained  from  the  outer  table  of  the  skull,  from  the  end  of 
a  finger  or  from  one  of  the  ribs.  Parts  of  the  skull  are  sometimes 
destroyed  by  wounds  leaving  the  brain  covered  only  by  the  soft  parts 
which  may  cause  fits  or  lead  too  easily  to  injury  to  the  brain.  These 
defects  in  the  skull  are  filled  in  now,  not  by  silver  or  celluloid  plates, 
as  was  formerly  done,  but  by  bone  obtained  by  splitting  off  a  piece  of 
tlie  outside  table  of  the  skull  near  the  defect  or  by  cartilage  obtained 
from  the  ends  of  the  patient's  ribs.  .\  long  bone  partially  destroyed 
may  have  the  gap  filled  in  by  transplanting  a  fragment  from  some  bone 
large  enough  to  spare  it — placing  and  fixing  the  fragment  between  the 
ends  of  the  two  fragments  and  holding  it  in  place  until  union  occurs. 

Where  the  thumb  has  been  lost  or  all  the  fingers,  a  substitute  for 
the  thumb  for  the  fingers  to  press  against,  or  a  substitute  for  the 
fingers  for  the  thumb  to  press  against,  has  been  made  by  transplant- 
ing a  suitable  bone  or  fragment  and  fixing  it  in  its  new  position.  For 
the  treatment  of  tuberculosis  of  the  spine,  which  leads  to  hunciiback, 
a  fragment  taken  from  the  larger  bone  in  the  leg  is  trans])lanted  into 
the  part  of  the  s])ine  which  is  diseased  in  order  to  hold  the  parts  at  rest 
until  cure  takes  ])lace  and  jircvent  the  deformity  of  hunchback. 

l-'ven  entire  joints,  as  the  knee,  have  been  transplanted  success- 
fullv — the  (h'seascd  joint  is  cut  out  and  a  healthy  joint  of  proper  size 
from  a  recently  amputated  liml)  is  {]\i.H\  in  its  place  until  union  occurs. 


328 

APetchnikoff  in  1!)03  inoculated  apes  with  syphilis,  and  in  1905 
Schaudin  and  Hoffmann  discovered  the  germ  of  the  disease.  A  few 
years  later,  in  1910,  Ehrlich  discovered  his  famous  (JOG,  or  salvarsan, 
after  605  other  remedies  had  been  tried  unsuccessfully. 

In  18 T6  Gussenbauer  and  Winiwarter  experimented  on  dogs' 
stomachs  and  were  surprised  and  pleased  to  tind  after  cutting  out 
pieces  and  sewing  them  together  that  the  jxirts  united  and  grew 
together  as  kindly  as  do  wounds  of  the  skin,  instead  of  being  digested 
or  destroyed  by  the  gastric  juice  as  was  the  common  belief. 

In  1861  Billroth  did  the  first  successful  pylorectoiuy  (excision  of 
a  portion  of  the  stomach)  on  the  human  being.  In  1881:  few  surgeons 
were  bold  enough  to  open  the  abdomen  even  for  the  treatment  of  gun- 
shot wounds.  Then  it  was  that  Parkes,  at  Chicago,  exjDerimented  on 
thirty-seven  dogs  by  shooting  them  through  the  bowels  while  etherized, 
then  operating  on  the  wounds  and  proved  that  opening  the  abdomen 
and  sewing  up  the  bullet  holes  was  the  best  method  of  treatment.  This 
has  led  to  the  saving  of  thousands  of  lives,  and  the  surgeon  of  today 
who  fails  to  operate  in  such  cases  would  be  negligent  of  his  dutv. 

Not  only  do  we  operate  for  wounds  of  the  stomach  and  bowels, 
but  for  many  diseases,  such  as  cancer  and  ulcer.  A  portion  of  the 
stomach  containing  the  cancer  is  cut  out  and  the  ends  sewed  together, 
or  the  ends  may  be  closed  by  stitches  and  a  new  opening  made  between 
the  stomach  and  the  bowel.  When  the  disease  is  so  far  advanced  that 
removal  is  impossible,  the  stomach  or  the  bowel  above,  and  the  bowel 
below  the  disease,  which  causes  obstruction  are  united,  "short  circuited" 
as  it  is  called,  so  that  the  obstruction  is  relieved  and  the  patient's  life 
prolonged  and  made  more  comfortable.  It  was  also  found  that  the 
entire  stomach  could  be  removed  and  the  patient  live.  Schlatter  at 
Zurich,  Switzerland,  did  the  first  successful  complete  removal  of  the 
stomach  in  189T,  and  the  ])atient  lived  about  one  year,  dying  of  a  return 
of  the  disease  (cancer)  in  some  other  form.  Since  then  the  operation 
has  been  done  many  times  with  good  results. 

Forty  years  ago  no  one  had  dared  to  operate  on  a  human  heart. 
If  it  was  penetrated  by  a  knife  or  bullet,  the  patient  was  permitted  to 
die  without  any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  surgeon.  Even  with 
this  method  of  no  treatment  some  patients  recovered,  and  in  186T 
Fischer  published  a  list  of  456  wounds  of  the  heart  with  an  estimated 
recovery  of  5  to  10  per  cent ;  but  as  no  operation  was  done,  it  is  prob- 
able that  most  of  the  recoveries  were  in  those  in  whom  the  heart  had 
not  been  wounded,  and  it  would  be  nearer  correct  to  assume  that  recov- 
eries from  penetrating  wounds  of  the  heart  treated  by  the  "watchful 
waiting"  plan  would  not  exceed  5  per  cent. 

In  1895  Rosenthal  and  Del  Vacchio  made  a  number  of  experiments 
on  dogs  and  found  that  they  could  be  cured  when  the  heart  was 
wounded  by  opening  the  chest  and  sewing  up  the  wound  in  the  heart. 
The  next  year  Farina,  of  Rome,  sewed  up  a  wound  in  the  heart  of  a 


329 

man.  and  the  man  lived  six  days  and  died  of  pneumonia.  During  the 
same  year  Rehn  performed  the  first  completely  successful  operation 
of  sewing  up  a  wound  in  the  heart.  Twelve  years  ago  (1908)  I  col- 
lected 150  cases  in  which  wounds  of  the  heart  had  been  sewed  up  and 
35  per  cent  {o2)  of  the  patients  recovered — a  gain  of  about  30  per  cent 
over  the  do-nothing  method.  Since  that  time  many  other  patients  with 
wounds  of  the  heart  have  been  saved  by  operation. 

All  of  us  hope  to  see  the  time  when  diseases  of  the  heart  can  be 
operated  on  and  cured  in  the  same  way.  In  diseases  of  the  heart,  the 
valves  often  become  too  small,  or  the  natural  openings  by  which  one 
chamber  opens  into  another  or  into  the  great  blood  vessels,  become  too 
large  or  too  small,  so  a  leak  occurs. 

Carrel  and  his  co-laborers  at  the  Rockefeller  Institute  have  demon- 
strated the  fact  that  in  dogs  the  valves  in  the  heart  and  the  natural 
openings  can  be  sewed  up,  enlarged,  or  reduced  in  size  without  killing 
the  animal.  In  the  same  way  large  blood  vessels  which  have  been 
wounded  have  been  preserved  by  sewing  up  the  wounds,  or  where 
they  have  been  divided  by  sewing  the  ends  together,  or  where  much  of 
the  vessel  has  been  destroyed,  by  transferring  a  piece  of  another  ves- 
sel which  can  be  spared  to  take  the 'place  of  the  portion  which  has  been 
destroyed. 

In  several  cases  one  lobe  (that  is  nearly  half)  of  one  lung  has  been 
successfully  removed,  and  in  one  case  Lilienthal  removed  almost  the 
entire  lung  with  recovery  of  the  patient. 

I  cannot  do  better  in  closing  than  to  quote  the  words  of  Dr.  W.  W. 
Keen,  the  Nestor  of  American  surgery,  in  comparing  the  achievements 
of  the  friends  of  experimentation  with  the  achievements  of  its  oppo- 
nents. 

UxDER  Experimi:nt.\tiox. 

"1.  They  have  discovered  and  developed  the  antiseptic  method,  and 
so  have  made  possible  all  the  wonderful  results  of  modern  surgery. 

"2.  They  have  made  possible  practically  all  modern  abdominal 
surgery,  including  operations  on  the  stomach,  intestines,  appendix,  liver, 
gallbladder,  pancreas,  spleen,  kidneys,  etc. 

"3.  They  have  made  possible  all  the  modern  surgery  of  the  brain. 

"4.  They  have  recently  made  possible  a  new  surgery  of  the  chest. 
including  the  surgery  of  the  heart,  lungs,  aorta,  oesophagus,  etc. 

"5.  They  have  almost  entirely  abolished  lockjaw,  after  operations, 
and  even  after  accidents. 

"G.  They  have  reduced  the  deathrate  after  compound  fractures 
from  two  out  of  three ;  i.  e.,  <)()  in  a  hundred  to  less  than  1  in  a  hundred. 

"T.  They  have  reduced  the  deathrate  of  ovariotomy  from  2  out  of 
3  or  ()fi  in  a  hundred  to  2  or  3  out  of  a  hundred. 

"S.  They  have  made  the  deathrate  after  ojjcrations  like  hernia, 
amputation  of  the  breast,  and  of  most  tumors  a  negligible  factor. 


:VM) 

"!».  They  have  aboHshed  yellow  fever — a  wonderful  triumph. 

"10.  They  have  enormously  diminished  the  ravages  of  the  deadly 
malaria,  and  its  abolition  is  only  a  matter  of  time. 

"11.  They  have  reduced  the  deathrate  of  hydroj)hobia  from  1"^  to 
14  j)er  cent  of  persons  bitten  to  0.77  per  cent. 

"12.  They  have  devised  a  method  of  direct  transfusion  of  blood 
which  has  already  saved  many  lives. 

"13.  They  have  cut  down  the  deathrate  in  diphtheria  all  over  the 
civilized  world.  In  ]i)  luiropean  and  American  cities  it  has  fallen 
from  7!).l)  per  hundred  thousand  of  population  in  1894,  when  the  anti- 
toxin treatment  was  begun,  to  19  deaths  i)er  hundred  thousand  in 
1 !)().") — less  than  one-quarter  of  the  deathrate  before  the  introduction  of 
the  antitoxin. 

"14.  They  have  reduced  the  mortality  of  the  eiiidemic  form  of 
cerebro-spinal  meningitis  from  W)  or  even  '.)0-odd  per  cent  to  '^0  per 
cent  and  less. 

"lo.  They  have  made  operating  for  goitre  almost  perfectly  safe. 

"Ki.  They  have  assisted  in  cutting  down  the  death  rate  of  tuber- 
culosis by  from  ^O  to  50  percent,  for  Koch's  discovery  of  the  tubercle 
bacillus  is  the  cornerstoiie  of  all  our  modern  sanitary  achievements. 

"IT.  In  the  British  Army  and  Navy  they  have  abolished  Malta 
fever,  which,  in  190"),  before  their  researches,  attacked  nearly  1,;}()0 
soldiers  and  sailors.  In  190T  there  were  in  the  army  only  11  cases; 
in  190.S,  ,-)  cases;  in  190i),  1  case. 

"18.  They  have  ahnost  abolished  childbed  fever,  the  chief  former 
peril  of  maternity,  and  have  reduced  its  mortality  from  ."J  or  10  up  even 
to  oT  in  every  hundred  mothers  to  1  in  L'^^O  mothers. 

"19.  They  have  very  recently  discovered  a  remedy  which  bids  fair 
to  ])rotect  innocent  wives  and  unborn  children,  besides  many  others 
in  the  community  at  large,  from  the  horrible  curse  of  syphilis. 

"•^0.  They  have  discovered  a  vaccine  against  tyjihoid  fever,  which 
among  soldiers  in  cam])s  has  totally  abolished  typhoid  fever,  as  Presi- 
dent Taft  has  so  recently  and  so  convincingly  stated.  The  imjiroved 
sanitation  which  has  helj^ed  to  do  this  is  itself  largely  the  result  of 
bacteriologic  experimentation. 

"21.  They  are  gradually  nearing  the  discovery  of  the  cause,  and 
then  we  hope  of  the-  cure,  of  those  dreadful  scourges  of  humanity, 
cancer,  infantile  paralysis  and  other  children's  diseases.  Who  that 
loves  his  fellow  creatures  would  dare  to  stay  the  hands  of  the  men 
who  may  lift  the  curse  of  infantile  paralysis,  scarlet  fever,  and  measles 
from  our  children  and  of  cancer  from  the  whole  race?  If  there  be 
such  cruel  creatures,  enemies  of  our  children  and  of  hutuanity,  let  them 
stand  up  and  be  counted. 

"22.  As  Sir  Frederick  Treves  has  stated,  it  has  been  by  ex])eri- 
ments  on  animals  that  our  knowledge  of  the  pathology,  methods  of 


331 

transmission,  and  the  means  of  treatment  of  the  fatal  'sleeping  sick- 
ness' has  been  obtained  and  is  being  increased. 

"23.  They  have  enormously  benefited  animals  by  discovering  the 
causes  and,  in  many  cases,  the  means  of  preventing  tuberculosis,  rin- 
derpest, anthrax,  glanders,  hog  cholera,  chicken  cholera,  lumpy  jaw, 
and  other  diseases  of  animals,  some  of  which  also  attack  man.  If  suf- 
fering dumb  creatures  could  but  speak,  they,  too,  would  pray  that  this 
good  work  should  still  continue  unhindered." 

On  the  other  hand,  what  have  the  foes  of  experimentation 
achieved  ? 

"1.   Xot  a  single  human  life  has  been  saved  by  their  efforts. 

"2.  Not  a  single  beneficent  discovery  has  been  made  by  them. 

"3.  Not  a  single  disease  has  been  abated  or  abolished  by  them, 
either  in  animals  or  man. 

"4.  All  that  they  have  done  is  to  resist  progress — to  spend  S500,- 
()()()  in  30  years  in  Great  Britain  alone,  and  very  large  amounts  of 
money  in  the  United  States — and  to  conduct  a  campaign  of  abuse  and 
gross  misrepresentation. 

"5.  They  apparently  care  little  or  nothing  for  the  continued  suf- 
fering and  death  of  human  beings. ^he  grief  and  not  seldom  the  ensuing 
poverty  of  their  families,  provided  that  2G  out  of  every  l.doo  dogs 
and  cats,  monkeys  and  guinea  pigs,  mice  and'  frogs  experimented  on 
shall  escape  some  physical  suffering. 

"6.  They  insist,  therefore,  that  all  experimental  research  on  ani- 
mals shall  sto]),  and — astounding  cruelty — that  thousands  of  hiuiian 
beings  shall  continue  year  after  year  to  suffer  and  to  die." 

achie\:emexts  of  the  medical  corps  of  the  army 

LN  preventive  MEDICINE. 
A  \TXD1CATI0N  of  ANIMAL  EXPERIMENTATION. 

By 
■      George  B.  Foster.  Jr.,  M.  D..  Dr.   V.  H. 
Major,  Medical  Corps,  U.  S.  Army. 

I  have  been  asked  to  discuss  animal  cx])crimentation  in  it-  relation 
to  the  advances  that  have  been  made  in  i)revontivc  medicine  through 
the  work  of-  militarv  surgeons. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  apj^roach  this  subject  in  a  controversial 
way,  as  I  feel  that  the  scientific  achievements  of  the  Medical  Corps  of 
the  Army  offer,  in  themselves,  an  argument  that  is  incontroverlible. 
I  shall  endeavor  to  outline  briefly  two  of  the  more  important  ])roblems 
that  have  been  solved,  leaving  entirely  to  your  judgment  the  (|uestion 
as  to  whether  they  have  contributed  to  the  safety,  happiness,  and  pros- 
])erity  of  mankind. 


33-^ 

In  considering  the  relation  that  animal  experimentation — and  lab- 
oratory methods  in  general — bears  to  great  sanitary  trium])hs,  one 
must  remember  that  no  great  achievement  has  been  the  work  of  one 
man  or  of  one  institution.  To  Marshal  Foch  has  been  attributed  the 
remark  that  "battles  are  won  with  scraps."  This  a])plies  equally  in  the 
field  of  ])reventive  medicine.  ]\Iagendie,  the  great  French  physiologist, 
likened  himself  to  a  chiffonier — a  rag-picker — wandering  through  the 
realms  of  science,  picking  up  fragments  of  knowledge,  piecing  them 
together  and  applying  them  to  his  own  problems  as  he  went  along. 

]\Iany  times  the  observations  of  clinicians  at  the  bedside  or  of  epi- 
demiologists in  the  field  furnish  the  clue  that  leads  to  some  epoch- 
making  discovery  in  the  laboratory  ;  while,  au  contraire,  in  innumerable 
instances  the  truths  elucidated  in  laboratories,  applied  practically  by 
sanitarians  and  clinicians,  have  resulted  in  the  conquest  of  disease. 

Now  let  us  see  what  has  been  accomplished. 

Typhoid  Fever. 

The  great  scourge  of  armies  during  the  nineteenth  century  was 
typhoid  fever.  At  the  beginning  of  the  F'ranco-Prussian  War,  the 
infection  existed  in  every  coq^s  of  the  German  Army  and  was  epidemic 
in  at  least  one  division.  After  mobilization  the  disease  spread  like 
wild-fire,  especially  among  the  troops  besieging  Metz  and  Paris. 
Within  two  months  after  mobilization  typhoid  had  spread  so  rapidly 
among  some  of  the  German  troops  that  one  man  out  of  every  six 
was  sick  of  this  disease.  The  total  cases  of  typhoid  in  the  German 
Armv  during  that  war  was  73.390,  or  nearly  10  ])er  cent  of  the  average 
strength. 

In  the  Afghan  War  of  187  8-80  typhoid  fever  developed  at  nearly 
every  station  occujMed  by  British  troops,  although  some  of  these  re- 
gions were  practically  uninhabited. 

During  the  Oran  campaign,  in  1885,  the  French  troops  camped  in 
desert  stations  never  before  occupied,  and  yet  typhoid  fever  not  only 
occurred,  but  the  outbreaks  assumed  the  proportions  of  alarming 
epidemics. 

Many  similar  instances  might  be  cited  where  troops  were  furnished 
drinking  water  of  unimpeachable  quality  and  occui)ied  ideal  cam])  sites 
that  could  not  ])ossibly  have  been  typhoid  i)ollutc<l  ])reviously,  yet 
typhoid  invariably  occurred. 

The  only  ex])lanation  of  such  outbreaks  is  that  an  army  carries  its 
ty])hoid  with  it  in  the  form  of  mild  undetected  cases,  or  of  the  so-called 
"healthy  carriers"  of  the  disease — individuals  who  have  had  tyi)hoid 
and  recovered,  but  who  still  harbor  and  excrete  from  their  intestinal 
tracts  virulent  typhoid  germs  capable  of  infecting  others.  The  infec- 
tion is  then  i)assed  on  from  man  to  man  by  direct  or  through  some  in- 
termediary^— the  usual  intermediaries  being,  as  we  now  know,  "food, 
fingers  and  flies." 


333 

111  our  Civil  \\'ar  the  army  suffered  severely  from  typhoid,  espe- 
cially the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  In  the  four  years  between  July  1, 
1862,  and  June  30,  1866,  there  were  57,400  cases,  resulting  in  5,360 
deaths. 

Another  tragic  page  in  medical  history  is  that  of  typhoid  fever  in 
the  Spanish  War. Every  regiment  constituting  the  First,  Second,  Third, 
Fourth,  Fifth  and  Seventh  Army  Corps  developed  the  disease.  More 
than  90  per  cent  of  the  volunteer  regiments  were  heavilv  infected 
within  eight  weeks  after  going  into  camp.  Typhoid  was  almost  equally 
prevalent  in  some  of  the  regular  regiments.  The  disease  occurred  in 
small  camps  as  well  as  large,  and  in  the  north  as  well  as  in  the  south. 
There  were  20,T38  cases  in  a  little  army  of  107,973  men;  nearly  one- 
fifth  of  the  army  contracting  the  disease.  The  toll  paid  to  typhoid  in 
that  war  was  1,580  lives,  or  86  per  cent  of  the  mortality  from  all  causes. 
Had  the  war  been  a  real  one  with  a  powerful  enemy  at  our  doors, 
military  effort  would  have  been  largely  frustrated,  we  would  have  been 
subjected  to  invasion  and  perhaps  ultimately  to  defeat. 

Remembering  that  what  has  just  been  said  applies  to  armies  in  the 
pre-vaccination  days,  let  us  pass  on  for  a  moment  to  a  brief  considera- 
tion of  the  development  of  preventive  inoculation  against  typhoid  fever. 
From  the  discovery  of  the  typhoid  bacillus  in  1880,  and  its  suc- 
cessful cultivation  in  artificial  media  by  Gaffky,  a  Prussian  army  sur- 
geon, in  1884,  the  investigation  of  methods  for  the  control  of  typhoid 
fever  have  been  greatly  advanced  by  the  work  of  army  surgeons  ;  the 
whole  matter  of  protective  inoculation — experimental  and  applied — 
having  been  elucidated  for  the  most  part  in  armies. 

Widal,  a  French  army  surgeon,  working  with  Chantemesse  in 
1888,  first  demonstrated  that  white  mice  could  be  made  immune  to  the 
pathogenic  effects  of  the  typhoid  bacillus  by  previously  inoculating  them 
beneath  the  skin  with  sterilized  cultures.  Incidentally,  while  conduct- 
ing these  experiments,  \\'idal  discovered  the  phenomenon  of  aggluti- 
nation of  bacteria  in  immune  serum— a  reaction  now  bearing  his  name 
and  of  great  value  in  the  laboratory  diagnosis  of  ty])hoid  and  other 
diseases. 

Carrying  further  the  work  of  Widal,  Sir  Almroth  Wright,  of  Dub- 
lin, Ireland,  a  British  Army  officer  and  professor  of  pathology  at  the 
Army  Medical  School  at  Netley,  after  much  preliminary  experimental 
work  on  laboratory  animals,  demonstrated  for  the  first  time,  in  1896)-97, 
through  the  results  obtained  in  the  ex])crimental  inoculation  of  over 
3,000  soldiers  in  India,  that  vaccination  of  man  was  practicable.  Mur- 
ing the  following  three  years  the  lessons  were  applied  ])raclically  in  the 
preventive  inoculation  of  the  British  troops  in  .South  Africa. 

In  1!M)9.  preventive  inoculation  against  typhoid  was  introduced  in 
our  army  by  Major  (now  Colonel)  V.  F.  Russell,  IMedical  Corps.  He 
went  to  Furo])e,  studiously  investigated  the  French,  British  and  Ger- 
man methods  in  vogue  at  the  time.  and.  returning  to  the  Armv  Medical 


334 

School  in  this  city,  organized  and  estabhshed  a  vaccine  laboratory,  in 
which  all  the  vaccine  since  used  by  our  army  has  been  prepared.'  Each 
batch  of  this  vaccine  is  carefully  tested  for  sterility  by  injection  into 
mice,  and  its  immunizing  properties  are  ascertained  by  the  inoculation 
of  rabbits.  These  animals  are  indispensable  to  the  standardization  of 
the  vaccine. 

At  the  beginning  vaccination  was  voluntary — the  first  volunteers 
being  officers  and  enlisted  men  of  the  Medical  Department — and  only 
a  part  of  the  entire  army  was  vaccinated  during  this  period.  It  was 
first  made  compulsory  for  the  20,000  men  mobilized  as  the  Maneuver 
Division  at  San  Antonio,  Texas,  in  the  spring  of  li)ll.  During  the 
months  that  these  20,000  men  lived  under  war  conditions  there  were 
but  two  cases  of  ty])hoid  fever  among  them — one  occurring  in  a  non- 
vaccinated  civilian  teamster  and  the  other  in  a  Hospital  Corpsman,  who 
confessed  to  me  while  ill  that  he  had  only  received  one  of  the  three 
inoculations  prescribed,  and  that  he  had  evaded  the  remaining  two  by 
falsifying  the  records.  Following  this  conclusive  demonstration  of  the 
efficacy  of  protective  inoculation  the  procedure  was  made  compulsory 
for  the  entire  army  in  1!)12.  In  1!)09  there  were  173  cases  of  typhoid 
in  the  army,  while  in  1!)12,  the  first  year  that  inoculation  became  uni- 
versally compulsory,  the  statistics  dropped  to  nine  cases  with  a  single 
death.  The  peace-time  army  from  then  on  remained  j^ractically  free 
from  ty]jhoid. 

Now  we  come  to  the  recent  W'orld  War.  Let  us  consider  the 
statistics  of  the  American  Army,  now  protected  by  anti-typhoid  vacci- 
nation. Prefacing  these  statistics,  however,  I  desire  to  bring  home  the 
fact  that,  with  the  exception  that  these  troops  had  been  immunized  by 
protective  inoculation,  conditions  favoring  the  development  of  ty])hoid 
were  exceedingly  comparable  to  those  existing  in  the  Spanish  M'ar. 
The  army  was  composed  almost  entirely  of  troops  hastily  drafted  from 
civil  pursuits — comparable  to  the  volunteers  of  1H98 — and  the  citizen 
soldiers  of  the  National  Guard.  They  were  hastily  mobilized  and  sent 
to  camjjs,  many  of  which  geogra])hically  were  in  close  proximity  to 
the  ])lague  spots  of  '98,  and  in  many  instances  adequate  sanitary  ar- 
rangements had  not  been  comjjleted  before  the  arrival  of  troops. 

That  portion  of  the  army  that  subsequently  went  to  France  suf- 
fered great  overcrowding  for  many  days  in  imj^rovised  transports, 
and,  U])on  arrival  at  ports  of  debarkation,  were  herded  into  box  cars 
and  rushed  to  the  front.  The  earlier  troops,  during  the  fall  of  191T 
and  winter  of  191T-1S,  were  billeted  in  insatn'tary  surroundings,  the 
condition  of  which  can  be  a])])reciated  only  by  those  who  were  there. 
I  remember  the  very  amusing  incident  of  a  French  ])easant  woman  in- 
dignantlv  demanding  that  the  American  soldiers  billeted  in  her  barn 
be  removed  as  they  talked  at  night  and  kept  the  sheep  awake.  The 
proximity  of  outhouses  to  water  sup])lies  may  be  imagined  from  the 
request  made  by  the  peasants  in  another  locality  that  the  x-Xmericans 


interdict  the  use  of  disinfectants  in  their  latrines  as  this  procedure 
imparted  a  disagreeable  taste  to  their  drinking  water. 

The  conditions  in  the  trenches  would  have  been  a  sanitary  re- 
])roach  had  it  been  possible  to  correct  them.  Later,  as  trench  warfare 
developed  into  open  battles  of  movement,  the  troops  at  times  lived 
under  sanitary  conditions  that  are  indescribable.  At  Chateau-Thierry, 
for  example,  our  troo])s  moved  into  territory  just  evacuated  by  the 
retreating  Germans  that  were  nasty  beyond  description — dead  bodies, 
dead  horses,  pools  of  feces  and  myriads  of  flies.  In  the  Argonne, 
transportation  difificulties,  the  nature  of  the  terrain,  and  the  dispersion 
of  troops  often  made  it  impossible  to  furnish  properly  treated  water 
at  all  times,  and  the  troops  drank  from  stagnant  jwoh,  collections  of 
water  in  shell  holes  and  whatnot. 

Nor  were  the  troops  stationed  in  towns  in  the  rear  free  from 
danger  of  infection.  Systematic  bacteriological  exauimation  of  the 
water  supplies  in  various  parts  of  France  showed  that  over  80  per  cent 
of  these  were  polluted  and  not  fit  for  drinking  purposes  without  pre- 
vious chlorination  or  boiling.  In  many  instances  the  water  was 
veritable  sewage  and  could  not  be  used  even  after  treatment. 

Yet,  during  the  two  years  of  the  \\'orld  War,  in  which  ap])roxi- 
mately  -lr,()0(),000  men  served  in  the  Army,  half  of  whom  saw  service 
in  France,  there  were  but  1,0().j  cases  of  typhoid  fever.  In  the  Spanish 
\\  ar  there  occurred  one  case  of  ty])hoid  among  each  six  men  :  in  this 
war  one  case  in  every  ;3,?ot)  men.  The  official  statistics  of  the  Sur- 
geon General's  Office  for  the  jjeriod  September  1,  191T,  to  May  2,  IDl'.l. 
show  that  there  were  but  213  deaths  from  this  disease.  Had  the  death 
rates  of  the  Spanish  War  ])revailed,  51,13,3  deaths  would  have  occurred, 
and  had  the  Civil  War  rates  a])plied,  ()8,](i-l  lives  would  have  been 
sacrificed. 

We  of  the  Army  Medical  Corps  are  thrilled  with  pride  at  this 
achievement  of  one  of  our  colleagues.  The  mothers,  wives,  sisters 
and  sweethearts  of  the  .')(),()()()  men  whose  lives  were  saved  bv  anti- 
ty])hoid  vaccination  should  breathe  a  prayer  thanking  God  that  there 
was  a  Russell — and  animal  experimentation. 

These  are  the  results  of  preventive  inoculation  against  typhoid 
fever.  I  ask  you,  do  they  compensate  for  the  lives  of  the  laboratory 
animals  sacrificed  ex])erimentally  in  ])erfecting  this  ])rocedure? 

N'i:i.L(iw   i'"i:vKu. 

I'erhajjs  the  most  spectacular  achievement  of  the  Medical  Cor])s 
of  the  Army  is  the  epoch-making  discovery  .of  the  traiisnii>^sion  of 
yellow  fever  by  the  mosr|uito. 

Yellow  fever,  ])eculiarly  a  disease  of  the  .\merican  continent,  is 
one  of  the  most  fatal  to  which  the  human  race  is  subject.  The  earlv 
colonists  suflfered  severely  from  this  disease,  and  it  had  an  important 


336 

bearing  upon  colonization  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  Its  ravages 
in  tro])ical  America  made  this  section  a  veritable  plague  spot  for  white 
men,  resulting  in  the  settlement  and  development  of  the  temj^erate 
regions  rather  than  the  tropics.  Untold  agricultural  and  mineral 
wealth  was  diverted  from  the  world's  markets  for  150  years  by  this 
grim  reaper  of  human  lives.  As  Vaughan  so  graphically  states,  "A 
certain  dread  and  romance  attaches  to  its  history." 

Formerly  the  disease  existed  perpetually  in  Havana,  and  from 
there  it  made  frequent  devastating  incursions  into  the  United  States. 
Outbreaks  occurred  along  the  eastern  seaboard  as  far  north  as  Boston. 
It  wrought  its  greatest  havoc,  however,  in  the  Southern  cities,  where, 
during  the  great  epidemic  of  1878 — only  43  years  ago — 16,000  persons 
died,  and  the  economic  loss  was  estimated  at  $100,000,000.  This 
catastrophe  focused  public  attention  for  a  time  and  resulted  in  the 
birth  of  a  National  Board  of  Health  to  protect  the  United  States  from 
another  invasion. 

As  most  of  the  epidemics  that  had  visited  the  United  States  were 
imported  from  Havana,  it  was  evident  to  sanitarians  that  great  pro- 
tection would  be  afforded  the  United  States  were  it  possible  to  eradi- 
cate yellow  fever  at  its  source.  The  opportunity  so  long  desired 
arrived  when  Havana  came  into  our  possession  in  1898. 

At  this  time  nothing  was  definitely  known  as  to  the  cause  of 
yellow  fever,  or  the  means  of  its  transmission.  Sanarelli,  an  Italian 
doctor,  had  just  announced  the  discovery  of  an  organism  which  he 
called  Bacillus  icteroides,  and  he  claimed  it  as  the  specific  cause  of 
this  disease.  Immediately  keen  interest  was  evinced  in  this  discovery, 
and  General  George  ]\I.  Sternberg,  Surgeon  General  of  the  Army,  him- 
self a  pioneer  investigator  in  yellow  fever,  who  had  paved  the  way  for 
subsequent  workers,  appointed  an  Army  Board,  consisting  of  Maj. 
Walter  Reed  and  Dr.  James  Carroll,  to  investigate  and  report  upon 
the  relation  of  bacillus  icteroides  to  yellow  fever.  This  was  in  1897. 
Reed  and  Carroll,  through  numerous  experiments  on  swine  and  other 
animals,  proved  conclusively  that  Sanarelli's  bacillus  is  a  variety  of 
the  common  hog  cholera  bacillus  and  has  nothing  to  do  with  yellow 
fever. 

In  1899,  when  yellow  fever  appeared  among  the  American  troops 
stationed  in  Havana,  Reed  and  Carroll  again,  with  Drs.  J.  W.  Lazear 
and  Aristides  Agramonte,  constituted  a  commission  sent  to  Cuba  to 
investigate  its  cause  and  transmission. 

Shortly  after  arrival  Reed  was  afiforded  an  opportunity  to  study 
an  epidemic  of  yellow  fever  among  our  troops  at  Pinar  del  Rio,  and 
he  became  convinced,  through  his  observations  there,  that  the  theory 
then  governing  all  preventive  measures,  that  transmission  occurred 
through  infected  utensils,  clothing,  bedding,  etc.,  was  efroneous.  He 
determined  to  give  up,  for  the  time  being,  further  search  for  the  spe- 
cific cause  of  the  disease  and  to  devote  all  his  efforts  to  the  immediate 


337 

pressing  need  of  the  elucidation  of  the  means  of  transmission  in  order 
that  effectual  preventive  measures  might  be  instituted. 

The  belief  that  the  disease  was  transmitted  by  mosquitoes,  ex- 
pressed by  Dr.  Carlos  Finlay,  of  Havana,  nearly  twenty  years  before, 
appealed  to  Reed  as  the  most  logical  theory  to  investigate.  The  only 
way  of  proving  or  disproving  this  theory  was  to  permit  infected  mos- 
quitoes to  bite  susceptible  persons  as  laboratory  animals  were  thought 
to  be  immune.  After  weighing  the  terrible  responsibility  of  carrying 
out  such  experiments  on  human  beings,  the  commission  decided  that 
if  they  succeeded  in  transmitting  the  disease  experimentally  through 
mosquitoes,  the  benefit  to  humanity  would  justify  the  hazard.  They 
agreed,  however,  that  in  justice  and  fairness  they  themselves  should 
be  included  among  the  volunteers. 

Female  mosquitoes  of  the  variety  known  as  stegomyia  fasciata 
were  obtained  from  Dr.  Finlay,  infected  by  feeding  on  patients  acutely 
ill  with  yellow  fever,  and  then  applied  to  the  volunteers.  The  first 
experiments  were  carried  out  by  Lazear  as  Reed  had  been  recalled 
temporarily  to  the  United  States.  Lazear's  first  attempt  to  infect 
himself  was  unsuccessful.  Later  he  was  bitten  by  a  mosquito  while 
collecting  blood  from  a  patient  in  a  yellow  fever  ward,  and  he  purposely 
permitted  the  mosquito  to  take  his  fill.  Several  days  later  he  became 
ill  of  yellow  fever  and  died.  In  the  meantime  Lazear  had  applied 
infected  mosquitoes  to  Carroll,  and  this  resulted  in  the  first  successful 
experimental  inoculation.  It  can  best  be  described  in  the  words  of 
Carroll  himself : 

"The  insect,  which  had  been  hatched  and  reared  in  the  laboratory, 
liad  been  caused  to  feed  upon  four  cases  of  yellow  fever,  two  of  them 
severe  and  two  mild.  The  first  patient,  a  severe  case,  was  bitten  twelve 
days  before,  the  second,  third  and  fourth  patients  had  been  bitten  six, 
four  and  two  days  previously,  and  their  attacks  were  mild,  severe  and 
mild,  respectively.  In  writing  to  Dr.  Reed  on  the  night  after  the 
incident,  I  remarked  jokingly  that  if  there  were  anything  in  the  mos- 
quito theory  I  should  have  a  good  dose;  and  so  it  happened.  After 
having  slight  ])remonitory  symptoms  for  two  days,  I  was  taken  sick 
on  August  31,  and  on  September  1,  I  was  carried  to  the  yellow  fever 
camp.  My  life  was  in  the  balance  for  three  days,  and  my  chart  shows 
that  on  the  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh  days  my  urine  contained  eight-tenths 
and  nine-tenths  of  moist  albumin.  On  the  day  that  I  was  taken  sick. 
August  31,  1000,  Dr.  Lazear  a])plied  the  same  mos(|uito,  with  three 
others,  to  another  individual  who  suffered  a  comparatively  mild  attack, 
and  was  well  before  I  left  my  l)ed.  Thus  it  ha])])encd  that  I  was  the 
first  ])erson  to  whom  the  mos(|uito  was  ])roved  to  convey  the  disease. 
On  the  eighteenth  day  of  Se])tcmber,  five  days  after  I  was  permitted 
to  leave  my  bed.  Dr.  Lazear  was  stricken  and  died  in  convulsions  just 
one  week  later,  after  several  days  of  delirium  with  black  vonnt.  .'^uch 
is  yellow  fever." 


338 


This  ex])eriment  on  Dr.  Carroll  was  followed  by  eleven  others, 
nine  of  which  were  negative  and  two  ])ositive,  and,  upon  this  evidence 
Reed  felt  justified  in  pronouncing,  without  hesitatiton,  that  "the  mos- 
quito acts  as  the  intermediate  host  for  the  parasite  of  yellow  fever." 

The  experiments  did  not  stop  here,  however.  The  idea  of  mos- 
quito transmission  was  contrary  to  what  a  great  many  men  believed, 
and  it  aroused  a  storm  of  adverse  comment  and  criticism.  Reed  and 
his  colleagues  decided,  therefore,  to  repeat  and  simplify  the  experiments 
imder  conditions  that  would  leave  no  doubt  as  to  their  conclusiveness. 
They  established  an  experimental  station,  a  mile  removed  from  the 
nearest  habitations,  and  surrounded  it  with  an  armed  guard.  No 
intercourse  was  permitted  with  the  town  except  through  an  immvme 
ambulance  driver  and  an  imnirne  hos])ital  steward  who  transported 
su])]dies  from  Camp  Columbia.  The  ])ersonnel  and  such  susceptible 
individuals  as  were  admitted  for  experimentation  were  sheltered  in 
tents  placed  twenty  feet  aj^art.  This  station  was  named  Camp  Lazear. 
A  small  frame  building  was  built,  14  x  20  feet,  so  screened  with  wire 
netting  that  mosquitoes  could  not  get  in  or  out.  The  interior  of  the 
building  was  divided  into  two  compartments  by  a  partition  made  of 
wire  netting  running  down  the  center.  Two  susceptible  persons  were 
put  in  this  building — one  in  each  compartment.  Breathing  the  same 
air  and  subjected  in  every  way  to  the  same  conditions  ;  bnt  entirely 
separated  by  the  wire  netting,  they  lived  and  slept  in  these  compart- 
ments for  several  days  to  show  that  there  was  no  yellow  fever  infection 
in  the  building.  Reed  then  put  fifteen  infected  mosquitoes  in  one  of 
the  comi)artments.  left  a  man  in  the  compartment  for  thirty  minutes., 
and  announced  that  this  comi)artment  was  now  infected.  He  took  the 
man  out  of  this  infected  compartment,  but  left  two  men  in  the  compart- 
ment on  the  other  side  of  the  wire  netting.  The  man  from  the  infected 
compartment  returned  for  twenty  minutes  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
days,  and  again,  for  fifteen  minutes  on  the  following  day.  During 
these  three  visits  he  was  bitten  by  moscjuitoes  fifteen  times.  At  the 
end  of  the  fourth  day  the  man  from  the  infected  compartment  was 
down  with  yellow  fever  and  the  two  men  who  had  remained  in  the 
other  compartment  separated  only  by  the  wire  netting  and  breathing 
the  same  air.  were  ])erfectly  well. 

Reed  then  announced  that  he  would  disinfect  the  infected  com- 
partment simply  by  catching  and  removing  the  fifteen  mosquitoes. 
Following  the  removal  of  the  infected  mosquitoes  a  nonimmune  soldier 
w-as  again  placed  in  each  com])artment.  left  there  several  days  and  they 
remained  ])erfectly  well. 

Although  the  experiment  created  a  j^rofound  impression  and  the 
skeiJtics  now  admitted  that  the  disease  could  be  transmitted  by  the 
mosquito,  they  still  maintained  that  it  could  be,  and  generally  was 
transmitted  in  other  ways,  such  as  by  soiled  clothing,  bedding,  and  by 
contact  with  persons  sick  with  the  disease,  etc. 


339 

Reed  then  had  constructed  another  small  building  that  was  almost 
air-tight — practically  devoid  of  ventilation.  In  this  building  he  placed 
material  from  the  yellow  fever  hospital  at  Las  Animas — mattresses  on 
which  yellow  fever  patients  had  died,  sheets,  pillows  and  pillow  cases 
liberally  smeared  wath  black  vomit,  excreta  and  discharges ;  and  even 
the  pajamas  worn  by  yellow  fever  patients  throughout  their  illnesses. 
This  material  was  opened  up  and  spread  out  in  this  close  room,  and 
Reed  asked  for  volunteers  to  sleep  in  the  room.  Dr.  R.  P.  Cook,  of 
the  Army,  and  several  soldiers  responded.  These  men  wore  the  paja- 
mas mentioned  and  slept  on  the  bedding  for  twenty  consecutive  nights. 
All  the  men  remained  well — not  a  single  case  of  yellow  fever  developed 
from  this  exposure.  This  demonstrated,  once  and  for  all,  the  fallacy 
of  the  filth  or  fomites  theory  of  the  transmission  of  yellow  fever.  The 
experiments  were  generally  accepted  as  proving  beyond  question  that 
yellow  fever  is  conveyed  from  man  to  man  by  the  mosquito  alone  and 
in  no  other  way. 

The  Board  conducted  further  experiments  demonstrating  that  the 
virus  of  yellow  fever  exists  in  the  patient's  blood  only  during  the  first 
three  days  of  the  disease ;  that  the  virus  is  ultramicroscopic,  being 
capable  of  passing  through  a  porcelain  filter  that  holds  back  ordinarv 
bacteria,  and  that  it  is  killed  by  a  temperature  of  55°  C.  in  ten  minutes. 
They  also  showed  that  the  female  mosquito,  only,  can  convey  the  dis- 
ease ;  that  after  biting  an  infected  person  a  period  of  twelve  to  twenty 
days  must  ela{)se  before  the  mosquito  is  capable  of  transmitting  it  to 
another ;  and  that  following  the  bite  another  period  of  from  three  to 
six  days  ela])ses  before  the  patient  develops  the  disease. 

These  experiments  are  the  foundation  upon  which  all  sanitary 
campaigns  against  yellow  fever  are  now  based.  Let  us  now  consider 
what  they  have  done  for  hvmanity. 

For  nearly  two  years  prior  to  the  conclusion  of  Reed's  exj^eri- 
ments  the  Army  had  been  in  entire  control  of  sanitary  afifairs  in  Ha- 
vana. Our'  cleverest  sanitarians,  among  them  Victor  C.  Vaughan,  of 
the  University  of  Michigan,  probably  the  foremost  American  epidemi- 
ologist, had  failed  dismally  in  controlling  yellow  fever  by  means  of 
methods  based  on  the  filth  theory  of  disease. 

Following  Reed's  demonstration  that  the  disease  is  transmitted 
solely  by  the  mosquito,  the  sanitarians  paid  no  more  attention  to 
fomites,  but  j)roceeded  to  apply  practically  Reed's  experimental  evi- 
dence in  the  following  ways :  ( L)  A  strict  (|uarantine  was  established 
to  keep  infected  persons  from  entering  the  city.  (2)  A  daily  inspec- 
tion of  all  nonimmune  persons  was  made  in  order  to  detect  new  cases 
during  the  first  three  days  of  the  disease — the  only  jieriod,  you  will 
remember,  during  which  the  virus  is  in  the  blood.  (3)  .All  persons 
sick  of  yellow  fever  were  immediately  screened  and  isolated  so  that 
mosquitoes  could  not  bite  them.  (4)  A  vigorous  antinios(|uito  cam- 
paign was  instituted  aiming  at  the  destruction  of  all  mos(|uitot's — kill- 


340 

ing  the  insects  in  habitations  by  wholesale   fumigation  and  energeti- 
cally searching  out  and  doing  away  with  their  breeding  places. 

Considerable  effort,  anxiety  and  experimentation  were  extended 
in  perfecting  the  methods,  but  on  September  26,  1901,  seven  months 
after  the  institution  of  these  methods,  the  last  .case  of  yellow  fever 
occurred,  and  Havana  w^as  free  from  this  disease  for  the  first  time  in 
140  years.  During  that  140  years  not  a  single  month  had  passed  with- 
out a  death  from  yellow  fever,  nor  had  there  passed  a  day  in  which 
there  had  not  been  some  person  sick  of  yellow  fever  within  the  city. 

Conquest  of  Yellow  Fever  ix  Panama, 

Soon  after  the  conquest  of  yellow  fever  in  Havana,  our  Govern- 
ment began  outlining  plans  for  one  of  the  greatest,  if  not  the  greatest 
engineering  project  in  history — namely,  the  construction  of  the  Pana- 
ma Canal. 

Early  in  1902,  while  still  stationed  in  Havana,  where  he  had  di- 
rected the  sanitary  work  that  had  rid  the  city  of  yellow  fever,  ]\Iajor 
(now  ]Major  General,  retired  and  recently  Surgeon  General)  William 
C.  Gorgas,  of  the  Medical  Corps,  invited  General  Sternberg's  attention 
to  the  enormous  loss  of  life  from  tropical  diseases  that  had  occurred 
among  the  French  while  working  at  Panama  ;  emphasized  the  fact  that 
these  fatalities  had  resulted  for  the  most  part  from  yellow  fever  and 
malaria ;  and  suggested  that  the  methods  that  had  been  so  effective  in 
Havana,  if  carried  out  in  Panama,  would  greatly  reduce  the  mortality 
that  might  be  anticipated  among  American  workers  on  the  Isthmus. 
General  Sternberg  concurred  in  this  opinion  and  recommended  that 
Major  Gorgas,  on  account  of  his  previous  experience  in  Havana,  be 
placed  in  charge  of  the  sanitary  work  in  Panama. 

The  contemjilated  route  of  the  Panama  Canal  lay  through  a  low, 
swampy,  densely  vegetated  country,  alternating  with  rugged  moun- 
tainous regions,  where  the  rainfall  was  excessive  and  yellow  fever  and 
malaria  prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent. 

The  French  attempt,  in  the  eighties,  to  unite  the  waters  of  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  by  this  isthmian  route,  although  directed  by  one 
of  the  greatest  engineering  geniuses  of  all  time — Ferdinand  de  Les- 
seps — had  to  be  given  up  because  of  the  enormous  price  paid  in  human 
lives.  The  French  lost  22,189  laborers  by  death  and  sunk  millions  of 
dollars.  It  is  said  that  the  price  paid  in  building  the  old  Panama  rail- 
road was  a  human  life  for  each  tie  laid.  One  of  the  towns  on  this 
railroad  was  named  Matachin,  from  the  Spanish  words  meaning  "dead 
chinaman,"  because  a  thousand  imported  Chinese  laborers  and  a 
thousand  African  negroes  laid  down  their  lives  at  this  point  in  six 
months.  Colon  at  one  end  of  the  canal  was  a  veritable  white  man's 
graveyard  ;  while  the  town  of  Panama  at  the  other  end  bore  the  un- 
savory reputation   of  being  the  plague  spot  of  the  universe.     There 


341 

was  poverty,  there  was  vice,  there  was  every  noisome  thing  that  crawls 
and  creeps.  There  were  pestilences,  and  the  greatest  of  these  were 
yellow  fever  and  malaria — another  mosquito-borne  disease. 

Then  came  Gorgas  with  his  trained  corps  of  sanitarians — fresh 
from  their  victory  in  Havana.  The  story  of  the  sanitation  of  Panama 
under  the  administrative  direction  of  Gorgas  is  a  long  one,  and  I  shall 
not  bore  you  with  details.  Suffice  is  to  state  that  by  instituting  sani- 
tary measures  similar  to  those  used  in  Havana — destroying  mosquitoes, 
rhaking  habitations  and  hospitals  mosquito-proof  by  screening,  isolat- 
ing all  suspected  cases  of  yellow  fever  and  malaria,  removing  under- 
brush, filling  and  obliterating  stagnant  pools  and  swamps,  paving  and 
guttering  streets,  and  installing  sanitary  water  supplies  and  sewerage 
systems,  Gorgas  entirely  eradicated  yellow  fever  within  a  year,  and 
there  has  not  been  a  single  case  of  this  disease  in  the  Canal  Zone  since 
^lay,  1906.  Coincidentally  with  the  disappearance  of  yellow  fever 
there  was  a  drop  in  the  incidence  of  malaria.  At  the  beginning  of  this 
great  sanitary  campaign  800  cases  of  malaria  occurred  annually  in  each 
thousand  workers.  By  1913  the  rate  had  been  reduced  to  T6  per  thou- 
sand. The  general  annual  death  rate  in  the  Canal  Zone  from  all  dis- 
eases at  the  present  time  is  about  20  per  thousand — a  figure  comparing 
very  favorably  with  that  of  Xew  York  or  Washington. 

The  work  of  Gorgas  alone  made  possible  the  building  of  the 
Panama  Canal.  But  this  is  not  the  greatest  benefit  derived  from  that 
tremendous  task,  so  spectacularly  and  effectively  accomplished.  By 
salvaging  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  through  sanitation  the  great  lesson 
learned  is  that  the  tropics  can  be  made  as  habitable  for  white  men  as 
the  temperate  zone.  How  different  would  have  been  the  history  of 
the  Americas  had  it  been  learned  300  years  earlier. 

In  contemplating  this — the  greatest  achievement  of  modern  times — 
let  us  not  forget  Walter  Reed — and  experimentation. 

The  triumphs  over  typhoid  and  yellow  fevers  have  not  been  the 
only  scientific  achievements  of  the  ^Medical  Corps  of  the  Army.  Did 
the  time  allotted  to  me  i^ermit  I  would  tell  you  of  the  work  of  Stern- 
berg, the  first  American  bacteriologist,  discoverer  of  the  diplococcus 
of  pneumonia,  ]iioneer  worker  in  yellow  fever,  author  of  important 
treatises  on  infection,  immunity  and  disinfection,  founder  of  the  Army 
Medical  School,  and  a  ff»rmcr  surgeon  general  of  the  Army  ;  of  the 
demonstration  Ijy  Ashliurn  and  Craig  that  dengue  fever  is  due  to  a 
filterable  virus  and  that  it  is  transnn'tted  by  the  mostjuito  and  aimenable 
to  prevention  by  the  methods  successfully  used  in  malaria  and  yellow 
fever ;  and  of  the  work  of  Chamberlain  and  Vedder,  who,  by  experi- 
ments on  fowls,  disarmed  the  tropical  disease  beri-beri — tearing  from 
it  its  mysticism,  robbing  it  of  its  terrors  and  placing  it  in  the  category 
of  curable  as  well  as  ])reventablc  diseases. 

The  conquest  of  hook-worm  disease  in  Porto  Rico,  work  based 
largely  on  the  demonstration  by  experiments  on  animals  that  the  para- 


342 

site  enters  the  body  through  the  skin,  is  the  work  of  Bailey  K.  Ashford, 
a  medical  officer  of  the  Army  and  a  graduate  of  your  own  university — 
Georgetown. 

Many  other  instances  might  be  enumerated  of  scientific  endeavor 
redounding  to  the  benefit  of  humanity.  Those  cited,  however,  should 
be  sufficient  to  show  that  all  advances  in  preventive  medicine  have  their 
basis  in  experimentation — on  animals  as  a  rule,  but  on  men  when 
necessary  and  justifiable. 

Without  animal  experimentation  we  must  inevitably  stagnate,  and 
many  pressing  questions  as  to  the  cause  and  prevention  of  devastating 
epidemics  of  transmissible  diseases — influenza  is  one  of  these — must 
remain  unanswered. 

I  submit  to  you — shall  animal  experimentation  be  prohibited  or  no  ? 


THE  LABORATORY  WORK  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
PUBLIC  HEALTH  SERVICE. 

By 

A.  M.  Stimson,  Surgeon,  U.  S.  P.  H.  S. 
Assista)it  Director,  Hygienic  Laboratory,  lVasJii)ujton,  D.  C. 

In  an  attem])t  to  familiarize  you  with  some  of  the  laboratory  re- 
searches of  the  U.  S.  Public  Health  Service,  I  find  it  necessary  to  select 
certain  illustrative  examples  from  an  almost  endless  list.  The  Public 
Health  Service  did  not  launch  into  existence  on  any  definite  date,  save 
in  name.  Its  development  was  gradual.  From  time  to  time  as  the 
emergency  arose,  Congress  assigned  it  new  duties  and  granted  it  fur- 
ther power.  The  purpose  of  the  Service  in  general  may  be  stated  to 
be  the  ])romotion  of  ])ublic  welfare  by  conserving  and  improving  the 
health  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country.  In  order  to  carry  out  intel- 
ligently and  efficiently  the  duties  laid  upon  it  by  law,  the  Service  has 
had  to  engage  in  a  great  deal  of  laboratory  work.  In  the  course  of 
this  work  it  has  been  absolutely  essential  to  use  the  lower  animals. 

Before  taking  up  in  detail  a  discussion  of  the  particular  functions 
of  the  Service,  it  is  necessary  to  make  clear  what  is  meant  by  "the 
experimental  method."  If  we  review  the  works  of  the  ancients,  we 
find  that  there  was  no  lack  of  intellectual  acumen  among  them  ;  in 
literature  and  in  the  arts  they  give  abundant  evidence  of  high  mental' 
powers.  Why  was  it,  then,  that  in  matters  of  science  they  made  very 
little;  progress,  and  that  for  centuries  medical  science  especially  was 
in  a  state  of  almost  com])lete  stagnation?  The  difference,  I  believe,  is 
readily  traceable  to  the  lack  of  proper  methods.     Just  as  in  mathe- 


343 

matics  the  lack  of  the  calculus  prevented  the  solution  of  a  certain  math- 
ematical problem,  so  in  the  physical  sciences  the  lack  of  the  experi- 
mental method  effectually  barred  the  door  to  progress.  We  can  easily 
imagine  that  primitive  man  was  satisfied  with  the  explanation  of  a 
thunderstorm  that  it  was  due  to  a  combat  between  devils  fighting  above 
the  clouds.  His  explanation  of  disease  was  akin  to  this  with  the  one 
exception  that  the  conflict  was  limited  to  his  own  interior.  In  ancient 
India  the  Brahmins  have  accumulated  some  very  interesting  anatomical 
information ;  for  example,  they  stated  that  in  the  human  body  there  are 
100, OOO  vessels,  each  divided  into  seven  tubes,  which  carry  ten  different 
kinds  of  gases  to  all  portions  of  the  body.  Moreover,  the  origin  of 
the  pulse  they  located  in  the  abdomen  ;  it  was  said  to  be  two  hands  high 
and  three  hands  wide,  and  from  it  little  tubes  radiate  to  all  parts  of 
the  body.  When  Greece  was  in  her  prime  her  philosophers  had  elab- 
orated a  most  intricate  system  of  medical  doctrine ;  indeed,  their  theo- 
ries curried  favor  far  down  into  the  period  following  the  Rennaissance. 
Disease  was  due  to  the  conflict  of  various  humors  and  spirits  which  cir- 
culated throughout  the  body.  It  will  be  noted  that  all  of  the  philos- 
ophers up  to  this  time  had  approached  disease  from  a  purely  theoreti- 
cal standpoint.  Investigation  on  the  body  by  dissection  and  experi- 
ment had  been  resorted  to  very  rarely  and  very  superficially,  and  the 
practical  knowledge  of  the  prevention  and  cure  of  disease  was,  to  all 
purposes,  negligible. 

Let  us  contrast  this  mode  of  introspective  philosophy  with  the 
method  used  by  William  Harvey,  discover  of  the  circulation  of  the 
blood.  This  great  scientist,  who  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  use  the 
experimental  method  in  its  perfection,  actually  dissected  the  body  of 
man  and  of  the  lower  animals  ;  he  conducted  experiments  on  the  living 
bodies  of  animals,  and  only  after  he  had  carried  on  his  investigations 
for  more  than  ten  years  did  he  venture  to  make  public  the  results. 
These  findings  were  so  at  variance  with  the  accepted  doctrines  which 
had  been  handed  down  from  the  Greeks  that  Harvey  was  derided  and 
maligned,  but  it  is  gratifying  to  note  that  within  his  own  lifetime  his 
views  were  acce])ted  and  his  practices  emulated.  The  remarkable 
])rogress  of  recent  years  in  the  medical  sciences  is  directly  traceable  to 
the  methods  of  exjjerimental  investigation  introduced  by  William  Har- 
vey and  other  men  of  courage  who  were  unwilling  to  sponsor  unsup- 
ported tradition  and  who  had  to  see  with  their  own  eyes  before  they 
tabulated  conclusions. 

The  U.  S.  Public  Health  Service  has,  of  course,  found  much  of 
its  information  concerning  disease  ready  made.  Other  data  it  has 
established  by  ex])eriniental  methods,  and  it  is  imjiortant  to  see  that 
not  only  in  beginning  work  related  to  public  health  is  it  necessary  to 
use  information  gleaned  from  experimental  methods  involving  the  use 
of  animals,  but  that  in  the  actual  continuation  of  the  work  after  routine 
fashion,  it  is  imperative  to  rely  upon  the  same. 


344 
Bubonic  Plague. 

I  have  selected  as  the  first  illustration  of  the  laboratory  work  of 
the  Service  its  operations  in  connection  with  a  disease  which  probably 
has  solicited  the  attention  of  but  very  few  persons  in  this  audience. 
Bubonic  plague,  to  the  average  person,  is  looked  upon  as  a  distant,  tropi- 
cal, exotic  disease  little  to  be  worried  about,  and  my  reason  for  select- 
ing it  is  the  fact  that  were  it  not  for  the  employment  of  methods  which 
were  learned  from  experimentation  this  plague  might  very  well  be  in 
om-  midst  today.  Daniel  Defoe  has  handed  us  a  pen  picture  of  a 
plague  ei)idemic  in  London  ;  that  this  was  not  overdrawn  has  subse- 
quently been  j^roven  by  many  historic  recurrences.  Fancy  a  city  dis- 
tracted, the  inhabitants  rushing  about  in  a  frantic  effort  to  escape 
the  pestilence,  only  to  be  met  at  the  borders  of  the  city  by  armed  guards 
stationed  to  prevent  their  exit;  unburied  bodies  line  the  streets  and 
abandoned  children  are  left  to  starve  ;  traffic  and  commerce  is  dis- 
organized, famine  follows  close  upon  pestilence.  Such  occurred  in 
the  days  before  science  pointed  out  the  cause  of  the  plague  and  of  its 
spread  and  suggested  a  rational,  effectual  mode  of  combating  the 
disease. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  an  infection  of  this  plague  in  one  of 
our  larger  American  cities,  yet  no  panic  reigns,  tourists  visit  the  city 
in  large  numbers,  and  all  is  apparently  ])rosperous.  This  because  there 
is  constantly  being  carried  on  in  that  city  a  quiet,  eft"ective  campaign 
to  meet  the  emergency.  The  experimental  investigations  have  shown 
that  plague  is  essentially  a  disease  of  rats  ;  that  it  is  conveyed  from  rat 
to  rat,  and  may  be  communicated  from  rat  to  man  through  the  flea. 
With  this  known  it  is  found  to  be  practicable  to  prevent  the  spread 
of  plague  by  systematic  examinations  of  rats  captured  in  all  portions 
of  the  city.  When  a  plague  rat  is  trapped  intensive  antirat  operations 
are  carried  on  at  the  place  where  this  rat  was  apprehended,  and  thus 
an  incipient  focus  of  ])lague  infection  is  wi]:)ed  out  before  gaining  head- 
way. The  claim  that  general  methods  of  sanitation  will  effectually 
prevent  plague  epidemics  is  unsubstantiated ;  they  merely  limit  rat 
infestation. 

DlPIITIIKRTA. 

Turning  now  to  a  disease  more  familiar  to  us  I  shall  review  the 
work  of  the  Service  on  diphtheria.  Diphtheria  continues  to  be  preva- 
lent, chiefly  because  the  germ  which  causes  it  may  be  carried  about 
in  the  noses  and  throats  of  perfectly  healthy  persons.  Since  it  is  im- 
possible to  examine  an  entire  population  in  order  to  discover  who  these 
so-called  "carriers"  are,  and  since  it  would  be  impossible  to  quarantine 
them  all  when  apprehended,  the  efforts  of  health  officials  have  been  only 
in   nart   successful   toward   eliminating   the   disease,   but   by   method.= 


345 

which  were  devised  by  animal  experimentation  it  is  possible  to  reduce 
the  death  rate  from  this  disease  to  a  very  favorable  hgure.  For  ex- 
ample, the  method  of  making  an  early  diagnosis  by  laboratory  methods 
has  enabled  us  to  treat  cases  earlier  and  more  effectually  and  to  pre- 
vent infection  of  those  who  associate  with  these  cases.  Diphtheria 
antitoxin  also  is  one  of  the  most  remarkably  efficient  remedies  known 
to  man.  But  suppose  no  supervision  were  exercised  over  the  manu- 
facture of  this  antitoxin,  and  that  inert  and  worthless  samples  of  the 
product  were  freely  marketed,  we  can  readily  estimate  how  many 
lives  would  in  consequence  be  sacrificed.  The  Public  Health  Service 
controls  the  manufacture  of  antitoxin,  making  sure,  by  methods  of 
animal  experimentation,  that  this  i)roduct  as  it  is  sold  in  the  drug  store 
is  potent  and  reliable.  Furthermore,  by  animal  experimentation  a 
method  has  been  devised  for  examining  the  bacteria  which  cling  to  the 
throats  of  patients  followiijg  their  convalescense  to  determine  w^iether 
they  are  dangerous  to  others  or  not. 

Serums  and  Vaccines. 

The  Service  supervises  in  like'  manner  the  commercial  production 
of  many  other  serums  and  vaccines  which  are  used  for  the  treatment  of 
various  diseases.  I  may  mention  in  this  connection  the  serum  for 
tetanus,  or  lockjaw,  through  wdiich  many  a  soldier  in  the  trenches 
was  saved  to  the  nation.  Typhoid  vaccine,  a  product  of  great  efficiency, 
is  standardized  by  methods  in  w^hich  animals  are  used ;  rabies  vaccine 
more  familiarly  known  as  the  Pasteur  treatment  for  Hydrophobia,  is 
jjrepared  by  the  Service,  and  its  preparation  necessitated  the  use  of 
animals.  This  list  might  be  prolonged  indefinitely,  but  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  there  is  scarcely  any  useful  j^roduct  of  this  general  class  which 
has  not  necessitated  the  experimental  use  of  animals,. either  in  its  dis- 
covery, in  its  ])reparation,  or  in  its  standardization. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  being  conducted  throughout  the  United 
States  an  energetic  crusade  against  venereal  diseases.  While  these 
diseases  involve  a  moral  ]:)roblem  for  all,  to  the  sanitarian  they  present 
also  a  ]nirely  medical  j^roblem.  Hence  it  is  essential  that  every  person 
known  to  be  infected  from  syphilis  should  be  treated  to  prevent  his 
being  a  menace  to  those  with  whom  he  may  come  in  contact.  To  eft'ect 
this  arsphenamine  is  preeminently  efficient.  The  preparation  of  this 
substance  is  difficult,  and,  unless  the  greatest  care  is  taken,  a  product 
may  be  issued  for  distribution  which  is  unduly  poisonous  and  would,  if 
administered  to  ])atients,  beget  most  disastrous  results.  The  Public 
Health  Service  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  examining  each  batch 
of  this  substance  offered  for  sale.  To  do  this  the  lower  animals  must 
be  used. 

From  time  to  time  reports  reach  the  P>ureau  of  the  l\  S.  I'ublic 
Health  Service  of  the  occurrence,  in  this  or  that  part  of  the  coimtry.  of 


346 

a  new  or  rare  disease.  This  calls  for  an  immediate  investigation  to 
ascertain  whether  this  condition  is  likely  to  spread  and  become  serious, 
or  possibly  to  end  in  a  nation-wide  menace.  Such  have  been  pellagra, 
Rocky  Mountain  spotted  fever,  the  so-called  "deer-fly  disease,"  and  a 
disease  called  after  its  discoverer,  Dr.  Brill.  In  nearly  all  of  these 
instances  it  was  imperative  to  make  extensive  inoculations  of  animals 
in  order  to  determine  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  disease,  to  find  out 
what  animals  beside  man  might  be  afflicted  with  it,  and,  in  some  in- 
stances, to  devise  a  remedial  agent.  During  the  war  a  considerable 
number  of  cases  of  anthrax,  or  malignant  pustule,  occurred  among 
soldiers,  and  an  investigation,  in  which  the  use  of  animals  became 
necessary,  showed  that  these  cases  were  due  to  a  natural  infection  of 
shaving  brushes  through  the  hair  from  which  they  were  made.  Regu- 
lations were  immediately  issued  to  inhibit  the  use  of  harmful  material 
in  the  manufacture  of  these  articles. 

Tuberculosis. 

We  have  with  us  at  all  times  a  disease  which  is  so  common  that 
we  perhaps  do  not  fully  appreciate  what  a  tax  it  entails  on  the  economy, 
the  health  and  the  happiness  of  the  populace ;  tuberculosis  occurs  ac- 
tively in  perhaps  1  per  cent  of  the  population  and  occasions  at  least 
one  out  of  every  ten  deaths.  If  this  occurred  in  an  isolated  epidemic 
we  should  be  appalled.  Great  as  have  been  our  advances  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  this  condition,  there  remains  much  to  be  investigated  and 
learned.  We  have  been  obliged  to  experiment  upon  animals  in'  ob- 
taining our  present  information  and  this  practice  will  necessarily  con- 
tinue, if  we  are  to  find  out  more.  The  Service  is  at  present  engaged  in 
an  experimental  investigation  of  tuberculosis  with  the  view  to  dis- 
covering some  method  which  will  aid  in  the  fight  against  this  insidious 
malady.  Every  now  and  then  a  new  and  wonderful  cure  for  tuber- 
culosis is  ushered  in  with  much  sound  of  trumpets  and  flaring  head- 
lines in  the  newspapers.  Some  of  these  so-called  "remedies"  are  little 
less  than  unadulterated,  heartless  fakes  ;  others  are  somewise  bolstered 
by  scientific  i)lausibility  ;  unless  the  public  be  informed  by  a  reliable 
authority  as  to  the  true  merits  of  these  "cures"  a  most  pitiable  state  of 
afifairs  is  likely  to  transpire.  Suft'erers  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
many  of  them  in  the  last  stages  of  the  disease,  many  having  spent  their 
last  cent  for  railroad  fare,  flock  to  the  center  where  this  new  remedy 
is  obtainable,  only  to  share  disappointment,  and  frequently  to  die  from 
exhaustion.  It  is  felt  that  the  Service  in  investigating  and  furnishing 
the  public  with  reliable  information  on  the  subject  of  certain  of  these 
reputed  "cures"  has  rendered  a  valuable  service  to  the  country.  In 
such  investigations  it  is  necessary  to  use  experimental  animals,  as  it  is, 
indeed,  in  arriving  at  a  diagnosis  in  many  susi)ected  cases  of  tubercu- 
losis. 


347 
Other  Problems. 

Probably  no  drug  is  more  freely  prescribed  in  diseases  of  the 
heart  than  is  digitalis.  Yet  unless  this  remedy  is  of  a  standard  qual- 
ity, it  is  apt  to  be  harmful  rather  than  beneficial.  Accordingly,  with 
the  aid  of  animal  experimentation,  the  Service  has  formulated  a  test 
which  unquestionably  establishes  the  strength  and  purity  of  the  drug. 

It  has  been  recently  estimated  that  there  are  i)erhaps  a  million 
persons  in  the  United  States  who  are  addicted  in  some  degree  to  the 
use  of  habit-forming  drugs.  The  pernicious  effect  of  these  drugs  on 
the  individual  himself  and  on  the  civilization  of  which  he  is  a  unit 
are  well  known  ;  and  yet  there  is  a  real  need  for  the  alleviation  of  pain 
and  other  symptoms  of  drugs  which  have  an  action  similar  to  the 
habit-forming  drug,  but  free  from  this  distressing  feature.  Some 
progress  has  already  been  made  in  devising  suitable  substitutes,  and  in 
this  work  an  indispensable  factor  has  been  the  use  of  animals. 

Those  oi)posed  to  vivisection  and,  indeed,  to  animal  experimenta- 
tion generally,  are  accustomed  to  characterize  many  of  the  investiga- 
tions carried  out  by  scientific  men  as  being  due  to  idle  curiosity.  It  is 
true  that  investigations  are  made  into  various  phases  of  the  disease 
problem  without  there  being  at  the  time  any  apparent  way  in  which 
the  information  gained  can  be  practically  applied.  Nevertheless,  such 
information  sooner  or  later  is  almost  certain  to  merit  its  place  in  devis- 
ing something  of  value  to  humanity.  One  instance,  as  an  example 
of  this,  is  anaphylaxis.  If  horse  serum  be  injected  into  a  guinea  pig, 
even  in  large  amount,  it  ordinarily  provokes  no  appreciable  effect,  but 
an  investigator  noticed  that  if,  after  an  interval  of  ten  days  or  more, 
another  injection  of  horse  serum  be  given  the  same  animal,  it  acts  as 
an  acute  poison,  often  killing  the  animal  within  a  few  minutes.  This 
finding  invited  the  closest  research.  No  immediate  practical  1)enefit 
to  mankind  was  at  first  anticii)ated,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  infor- 
mation thus  gained  has  been  of  great  value  in  diagnosing  hitherto 
obscure  disease  conditions  in  man  and  in  suggesting  preventions  and 
cures.  Another  example :  During  the  examination  of  the  Ixidies  of 
rats  for  plague  infection,  a  disease  of  quite  different  origin,  but  closely 
simulating  plague  in  the  lesions  caused,  was  unex]:)ectedly  brought  to 
light.  Through  animal  experimentation  the  bacterium  causing  this 
disease  was  cultivated.  No  immediate  bearing  of  this  fact  on  human 
health  or  happiness  could  be  foreseen,  yet  within  a  very  few  years  it 
was  discovered  that  many  could  suffer  a  distressing  infection  clue  to 
this  same  organism. 

Problems  regarding  measles,  infantile  ])aralysis,  hookworm  and 
the  like  placed  before  this  .Service  for  solution  might  very  i)r<)fital)ly 
be  called  to  your  attention,  but  time  forbids.  In  concluding  1  beg 
leave  to  advise  you  that  the  benefits  which  have  accrued  to  man  con- 
sequent   to   animal    ex])erimentati()n    have   touched    not    only    physical 


348 

but  aslo  his  moral  well  being.  It  is  true  that  vice  predisposes  to  disease, 
but  it  is  no  less  true  that  disease,  innocently  contracted,  brands  as  a 
criminal  one  who  otherwise  would  have  been  a  useful  citizen. 

There  so  appears  here  a  vicious  circle  between  disease  and  crimi- 
nality ;  there  are  those  that  would  break  the  continuity  of  this  circle  in 
the  reformation  of  all  criminals,  and  we  wish  them  well,  but  surely 
it  is  not  a  step  toward  the  wrong  if,  with  the  means  at  our  disposal, 
w^e,  too,  interrupt  this  closed  line,  ridding  the  community  of  the  dis- 
eases, which,  directly  or  indirectly,  are  responsible  for  a  great  part  of  it. 


THE  ECONOMIC  ADVANTAGES  DERIVED  FROM 
ANIMAL  EXPERIMENTATION 

By 

Ernest  Charles  Schroeder,  ^I.  D.,  D.  V.  ^M. 

Sitpcrintcndcnt,  Expcriuicnt  Station,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry, 

Bcthesda,  Aid. 

The  economic  advantages  derived  from  animal  expermientation  are 
so  abundant  and  diverse  that  it  is  impossible  in  the  time  I  am  privileged 
to  discuss  them  to  do  more  than  indicate  their  far-reaching  importance. 
To  verify  this  statement  I  need  ask  only  a  few  questions  like  the 
following:  Is  it  an  economic  advantage  to  have  the  Panama  Canal? 
Is  the  defeat  of  Pan-Germanism  an  economic  advantage?  Is  it  an 
economic  advantage  to  have  food  and  clothing  in  sufficient  cfuantities 
to  insure  health  ? 

The  Standard  Dictionary  defines  economics  as  "the  science  that 
treats  of  the  develoimient  of  material  resources,  or  the  production, 
preservation  and  distribution  of  wealth,  or  the  means  of  living  w^ell 
for  the  state,  the  family  and  the  individual." 

If  we  accept  this  definition  we  may  conclude  that  anything,  not  an 
actual,  inse])arable  i)art  of  ourselves,  that  contributes  to  the  better 
develojiment  of  the  human  race  and  tends  to  make  life  more  desirable, 
is  an  economic  advantage ;  hence,  the  rational  answers  to  the  several 
questions  must  be  affirmative. 

The  Panama  Canal  woidd  not  have  been  built  if  animal  ex])erimen- 
tation  had  not  revealed  the  etiology  of  yellow  fever.  The  French 
failed  to  build  it,  not  because  they  lacked  intelligence,  courage  or  perse- 
verance, but  because  they  did  not  know  how  to  combat  yellow^  fever. 
Under  the  same  conditions  the  Americans  would  have  failed.  If  the 
Canal  had  been  constructed  with  no  better  knowledge  about  yellow 
fever  than  was  avadable  at  the  time  the  French  abandoned  the  gigantic 
project,   after  they   had   sacrificed   more   than    twenty-thousand   lives. 


349 

success  would  have  cost  so  many  valuable  lives  that  the  very  thought 
of  it  is  horror  inspiring,  and  the  established  short-cut  between  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans  probably  would  have  proved  so  perniciously 
unwholesome  and  destructive  to  those  who  used  it  that  it  soon  would 
have  earned  a  name  for  itself  something  like,  "The  water-lane  of  the 
yellow  death." 

What  the  Canal  has  done  and  promises  to  do  in  tlie  conservation  of 
man-power,  time,  shipping,  fuel,  etc.,  and  how  much  it  will  facilitate 
the  development  of  the  world  and  particularly  the  countries  on  the 
western  -coast  of  the  two  Americans,  I  leave  to  your  imagination. 

If  animal  experimentation  had  not  provided  vaccines,  bacterins  and 
antitoxic  sera ;  if  it  had  not  aided  in  the  development  of  jiew  methods 
of  surgery  and  the  discovery  of  reliable  means  to  diagnose  infectious 
diseases,  and  had  not  taught  us  how  to  use  war  gases  and  how  to 
defend  our  soldiers  against  them,  the  recent  war  would  have  cost 
many  additional  thousands  of  lives  and  would  have  produced  many 
additional  thousands  of  cripples  ;  it  would  almost  certainly  have  been 
prolonged  and  it  is  seriously  questionable  whether  Pan-Germanism, 
with  its  numerous,  villainovis  atrocities,  could  have  been  defeated. 

The  economic  significance  of  its  prolongation,  leaving  morbidity  and 
mortality  out  of  consideration,  may  be  judged  from  the  estimate  that 
the  war  cost  the  human  race  three  hundred  billion  dollars,  and  about 
the  economic  meaning  of  defeat  we  should  suspend  judgment  until  we 
have  tried  to  visualize  the  world  under  the  domination  of  a  victory- 
elated  despot,  whose  megalomania,  fostered  by  an  exultant,  reaction- 
ary, Prussian  aristocracy,  would  have  prompted  him  to  assume  the 
rank  of  a  divinity. 

If  animal  experimentation  had  not  taught  us  how  to  cure  many 
diseases  of  the  lower  animals  and  how  to  suppress  appallingly  de- 
structive animal  plagues,  the  hunger  and  starvation  now  prevalent  in 
many  parts  of  the  world  would  be  practically  universal.  I  might  say, 
however,  if  animal  experimentation  had  not  provided  the  means  to 
control  human  diseases  like  small-pox,  Asiatic  cholera,  bubonic  plague, 
typhus  fever,  yellow  fever,  etc.,  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  population 
of  the  world  would  have  become  great  enough  to  make  the  spread 
of  food-destroying  diseases  like  rinderpest,  foot  and  mouth  disease, 
anthrax,  Texas  fever,  hog  cholera,  surra,  swine  erysipelas,  contagious 
pleuro-pneumonia  of  cattle,  sheep  scab,  etc.,  econonn'cally  very  im-> 
portant,  as  food  has  no  value  for  those  who  are  dead  and  those  who 
fail  to  be  born. 

Vegetarians,  who  do  not  recognize  the  need  for  abundant  supplies 
of  meats,  animal  fats,  wool  and  hides,  and  persons  who  hold  extreme 
views  on  animal  rights,  may  mistake  this  statement  as  an  exaggeration. 
Their  attention  should  be  called  to  the  fact  that  it  is  questionable 
whether  sufficient  food  for  the  present  population  of  the  world  could 
be  producerl  withftut  the  use  of  animals  to  convert  coarse,  vegetable 


350 

substances,  unfit  for  human  stomachs,  into  easily  digested,  nutritious 
food,  and  to  the  fact  that,  in  adchtion  to  serving  as  indispensable 
sources  of  food,  clothing,  power  and  pleasure,  domestic  animals  are  so 
importantly,  related  to  the  production  of  vegetable  foods  and  textile 
fibers  that  practical  agriculturists  are  convinced  that  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil  without  animals  is  economically  impossible. 

The  spiritual  and  intellectual  nature  of  man  requires  that  we  should 
look  upon  him  as  a  unique  and  unparalleled  being,  but  materially,  that 
is  physically  and  chemically,  he  is  not  fundamentally  unlike  the  higher 
mammals  ;  consequently,  most  knowledge  valuable  for  ihe  protection 
of  man's  health  and  the  treatment  of  his  diseases  is  similarly  valuable 
for  the  lower  animals,  and  discoveries,  like  the  circulation  of  the  blood  ; 
the  capillary  circulation;  the  vasomotor  mechanism;  the  functions  of 
the  nervous  system  generally  ;  the  flow  of  the  chyle  in  the  lacteals  and 
its  passage  through  the  lymph  ducts  into  the  venous  circulation  ;  the 
nature  of  the  digestive  fluids  and  the  chemical  transformation  of  food 
through  their  action  ;  the  functions  of  the  liver,  lungs,  kidneys  and 
other  organs,  the  reaction  of  the  cells  to  various  kinds  of  stimuli ;  the 
significance  of  the  endocrin  glands  ;  the  nature  of  inflammation  and 
other  j^athological  processes,  and  practically  every  other  discovery  in 
physiology,  pathology  and  biochemistry,  are  as  serviceable  in  the  work 
of  the  animal  husbandman  and  veterinarian  as  in  that  of  the  hygienist 
and  physician,  and  in  this  sense  have  great,  material,  economic  value. 

The  discoveries  referred  to,  and  many  others,  too  numerous  to 
mention,  were  all  made  through  animal  experimentation,  and  could 
have  been  made  in  no  other  way  that  has  ever  been  defined. 

Veterinarians  and  i)hysicians  use  drugs,  and  if  the  pharmacopoeia 
contains  valuable  drugs  about  which  our  knowledge  has  not  been 
enriched  through  animal  experimentation,  I  must  confess  that  I  do 
not  know  what  they  are.  A  superficial  and  insufficient  knowledge  of 
the  actions  of  some  drugs  was  admittedly  obtained  through  accidental 
or  unintentional,  unguarded  and  undesirable  occurrences  among  per- 
sons and  animals,  but  the  precise  knowledge  we  have  of  the  therapeutic, 
l)hysiologic  an.d  toxic  actions  of  the  innumerable  substances  from 
which  our  useful  drugs  have  been  selected,  is  all  the  product  of  care- 
fully planned,  intelligent  animal  experimentation.  If  wc  did  not  know 
through  animal  experimentation  how  the  drugs  now  in  use  act,  on  the 
body  as  a  whole,  on  si)ecial  ])arts  of  the  body,  directly  or  indirectly 
through  the  nervous  system,  and  whether  their  action  is  immediate  or 
cu.mulative,  the  death  rate  among  persons  and  animals  would  be  griev- 
ously multiplied,  and  the  greater  losses  among  the  latter  would 
prove  a  factor  of  serious,  economic  disadvantage. 

Before  ex])erimental  methods  were  used  to  study  living  organisms 
in  health  and  disease,  the  i)ractice  of  medicine  was  little  better  than 
a  i)resumptive  art,  based  on  disconnected  and  largely  misinterpreted 
observations,  and  sick  persons  and  animals  were  tortured  as  often,  if 


351 

not  oftener,  than  they  were  helped  by  the  measures  taken  to  restore 
their  health.  Since  then,  fortunately  for  all  sentient  beings,  medicine 
has  become  a  true  science,  and  those  who  practice  it  make  real,  un- 
mistakable contributions  to  recovery  from  sickness,  the  preservation 
of  health  and  the  prevention  of  suffering.  In  animal  industry  this 
means  fewer  losses  and  greater  productivity,  or,  in  other  words,  better 
and  less  expensive  food  and  apparel. 

I  wish  to  emphasize  that  nearly  every  discovery  that  has  thrown 
light  on  the  nature  of  the  human  body  and  its  relation  to  its  environ- 
ment has  also  thrown  light  on  the  nature  of  the  bodies  of  the  lower 
animals  and  their  relation  to  their  environment,  as  this  fact  enables 
us  to  recognize  that  even  that  portion  of  animal  experimentation, 
primarily  undertaken  to  secure  knowledge  for  the  prevention  and  better 
treatment  of  human  diseases,  rarely  fails  to  confer  benefits  on  the 
lower  animals-;  hence,  if  the  proportion  between  the  pain  animal  experi- 
mentation has  caused  and  prevented  among  animals  alone  was  taken 
as  the  major  factor  in  determining  whether  animal  experimentation  is 
or  is  not  morally  sound,  we  would  not  be  left  in  doubt  a  single  moment, 
as  the  pain  that  has  been  caused  is  insignificant  in  comparison  to  that 
which  has  been  and  is  being  prevented.  The  men  who  treat  diseases 
among  animals  probably  relieve  more  pain  every  dav  than  animal 
experimentation  causes  in  a  score  of  years,  and  they  do  this  through  the 
agency  of  the  knowledge  animal  experimentatk)n  has  supplied. 

Diseases  of  animals  like  those  of  persons  may  be  divided  into  two 
kinds,  the  infectious  and  the  non-infectious,  or  those  caused  by  para- 
sites and  those  due  to  other  causes.  The  economic  advantages  derived 
from  animal  experimentation,  through  the  light  it  has  thrown  on  the 
infectious  diseases  of  domestic  animals,  are  of  astounding  value,  and 
this  can  be  shown  in  no  better  way  than  by  discussing  several  of  them 
separately. 

I  will  begin  with  Texas  fever  of  cattle,  which  has  the  distinction  of 
being  the  first  disease  ])roved  to  attack  its  victims  exclusively  through 
the  agency  of  intermediate  host  or  carrier  of  its  causative  germ  or 
micro])arasite.  It  is  a  member  of  a  large  group  of  exceedingly  de- 
structive, infectious  but  not  contagious,  diseases;  oth.r  iiicmbsrs  ol 
the  group  are  malaria,  yellow  fever,  typhus  fever.  Rocky  mountain 
spotted  fever,  African  sleeping  sickness,  spirillosis  of  fowls,  nagana. 
African  coast  fever  of  cattle,  piroplasmosis  of  horses  and  sheep  and 
dogs,  etc. 

The  intermediate  host  of  Texas  fever  is  the  Southern  cattle  tick. 
a  blood-sucking  parasite  which  absorbs  the  germs  of  the  disease  with 
its  food  when  it  lives  on  liie  bodies  of  infected  cattle.  The  female 
ticks,  after  they  reach  maturity,  drop  to  the  ground,  produce  two 
thousand  or  more  eggs,  the  eggs  hatch  and  the  young  ticks  inoculate 
the  susceptible  cattle  to  which  they  attach  themselves.  It  is  i)erfectly 
safe  to  permit  liealthy  cattle  to  association  with  those  that  are  affected 


353 

with  Texas  fever,  provided  no  cattle  ticks  are  present,  and  cattle 
ticks  do  not  convey  or  cause  the  disease  unless  they  are  the  progeny 
of  ticks  that  matured  on  the  bodies  of  infected  cattle.  Infected  cattle, 
when  we  deal  with  Texas  fever,  means  all  cattle  that  are  either  actively 
affected  with  the  disease  or  that  have  a])parently  recoverd  from  it, 
as  the  Texas  fever  microparasite,  once  it  has  entered  the  blood  of 
cattle,  evidently  remains  as  a  permanent  contamination. 

In  one  of  the  lectures  of  the  present  series  Dr.  Simon  Flexner  of 
the  Rock  feller  Institute  for  ^Medical  Research  ex])ressed  the  opinion 
that  our  knowledge  of  yellow  fever  would  in  all  likelihood  have  been 
delayed  if  the  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  oi  the  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture  on  Texas  fever  had  not  been  done.  I 
have  already  pointed  out  that  the  Panama  Canal  would  not  have  been 
constructed  without  the  knowledge  animal  experimentation  gave  us  on 
the  etiology  of  yellow  fever. 

Think  of  the  modest  investigator  whose  i)atient  study  of  a  mysterious 
cattle  disease  proved  a  great  pioneer  work  in  the  field  of  medical 
research,  and  incidentally  opened  the  door  to  knowledge  required  for 
the  junction  of  two  oceans  at  a  point  thousands  of  miles  removed 
from  where  nature  permitted  their  waters  to  mingle.  Draw  a  mental 
I)icture  of  the  man  and  his  work  ;  it  will  give  you  an  inspiring  view 
of  intellect  successfully  combatting  evil.  But  it  is  unnecessary  in 
speaking  about  Texas  |ever  to  dwell  longer  on  the  role  of  animal 
experimentation  in  the  accomplishment  of  a  great  engineering  feat, 
as  there  are  other  impressive  and  exceedingly  important  things  to 
talk  about  in  connection  with  this  disease  that  must  also  be  credited 
to  animal  experimentation. 

Less  than  fifteen  years  ago  the  prevalence  of  Texas  fever  and 
cattle  ticks  in  our  Southern  States  necessitated  the  maintenance  of 
a  cattle  quarantine  which  included  an  area  larger  than  three  quarters 
of  al  million  square  miles,  known  as  the  permanently  mfected  area. 
In  this  area,  more  than  three  and  one-half  times  as  large  as  the  French 
Rejniblic  and  nearly  three  and  one-half  times  as  large  as  the  former 
German  Empire,  the  losses  caused  by  Texas  fever  and  its  carriers  were 
enormous,  to  say  nothing  about  the  frequent,  troublesome  spread  of 
the  disease  northward.  Most  of  the  cattle  raised  were  undersized, 
large-boned,  unthrifty  mongrels  and  inferior  producers  of  milk,  meat 
and  hides.  Much  of  the  food  they  consumed  was  worse  than  wasted, 
as  it  was  diverted  from  sharing  in  their  growth  and  development, 
after  their  bodies  had  been  taxed  with  digesting  and  converting  it  into 
blood,  to  feed  the  ticks  which  irritated  the  surfaces  of  their  bodies 
and  the  microparasites  which  lived  beneath  the  surface. 

A  fairly  reliable  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  losses  caused  by  ticks 
alone  w^hen  we  know  that  female  cattle  ticks  multiply  their  size  and 
weight  by  about  ten-thousand  during  the  approximately  four  weeks 
they  remain  attached  to  the  skin  and  feed  on  the  blood  of  their  hosts ; 


353 

that  the  adult  female  tick  is  about  as  large  as  the  terminal  joint  of 
a  woman's  little  finger,  and  that  ticks  of  all  ages  and  sizes,  often  in 
unbelievable  numbers,  are  present  on  the  bodies  of  the  cattle  in  the 
infected  territory  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 

A  light  infestation  with  ticks  has  been  proved  to  reduce  the  milk 
yield  of  dairy  cow^s  18%,  and  a  heavy  infestation  reduces  it  more  than 
40%.  Think  of  the  loss,  to  which  must  be  added  the  loss  in  beef  pro- 
duction, the  lower  value  of  roughened  and  scarred  hides  and  the  deaths 
due  to  Texas  fever,  which  latter,  averaged  for  eleven  states,  amounted 
to  13%',  or  a  half  per  cent  more  than  one-eighth  of  the  total  cattle. 
The  reason  cattle  could  be  raised  at  all  in  the  infected  and  infested 
territory  is  that  Texas  fever  in  calves  rarely  is  the  severe,  acute, 
highly  fatal  disease  it  commonly  is  in  susceptible  adult  cattle.  It 
attacks  the  calves,  has  a  mild,  chronic  course,  plants  its  microparasites 
permanently  in  their  blood  and  gives  them  a  high  degree  of  immunity 
against  severe  attacks  later  on. 

Agriculture  may  be  compared  to  a  complex  machine ;  there  are  many 
parts  to  it,  and  if  one  part  gets  out  of  order  all  the  others  are  afifected. 
The  cattle  industry  is  as  necessary  to  American  agriculture  as  tires  are 
to  an  automobile,  and  to  practice  agriculture  with  cattle  ticks,  Texas 
fevef  and  a  cattle  quarantine,  resembles  driving  an  automobile  over 
a  rough  road,  littered  with  cutting  and  puncturing  objects  and  under- 
going constant  repairs  that  require  long  detours.  Hence,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  agriculture  in  many  parts  of  the  quarantined  area  was 
unprosperous  and  that  the  farmers  and  breeders  were  discouraged 
and  depressed. 

In  the  year  1906,  the  methods  for  eradicating  Texas  fever  and  cattle 
ticks,  revealed  through  animal  experimentation,  were  put  into  practice 
by  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  and  since  then,  over  half  a 
million  square  miles,  a  territory  one-hundred  thousand  square  miles 
larger  than  the  combined  areas  of  the  French  Republic  and  the 
former  German  Empire,  have  been  cleaned  of  the  disease  and  its 
carriers  and  released  from  quarantine,  and  in  only  a  few  years  more 
the  two  related  plagues  will  have  been  wi]:)ed  entirely  out  of  our 
Country. 

Fully  to  appreciate  what  this  means,  and  to  measure  its  economic 
value,  we  must  know  that  the  formerly  infected  and  infested,  quaran- 
tined territory  includes  some  of  the  best  agricultural  and  cattle  lands 
in  the  world,  and  that  it  has  begun  to  produce  cattle  that  compete 
successfully,  and  on  terms  of  equality,  with  the  finest  that  enter  our 
stockyards,  and  that  recently  it  has  produced  cattle  that  ca])tured 
blue  ribbons  at  National  livestock  shows.  The  farmers  and  breeders 
have  taken  heart  and  are  working  with  renewed  courage,  and  increased 
prosperity  and  contentment  are  widely  evident.  The  choice,  well- 
bred,  healthy,  heavy  and  j)rofital)lc  cattle  are  being  produced  at  no 
greater  expenditure  of  labor  and  forage  than  the  undersized,  sufi'ering 


354 


runts  required,  as  cattle  raising  and  feeding  has  ceased  to  mean 
raising  and  feeding  a  combination  of  cattle,,  cattle  ticks  and  Texas 
fever  parasites.  It  is  now  safe  to  send  cattle  from  the  North  into  the 
rich  ])asture  lands  of  the  South,  where,  a  little  while  ago,  it  was  unsafe, 
notwithstanding  difficult  j^recautions,  to  send  thoroughbred  animals  for 
breeding  purposes. 

Think  of  the  economic  advantage.  Think  of  the  increased  ])roduc- 
tion  of  food,  think  of  it  with  the  fact  in  mind  that  well-informed  men 
assert  that  the  morbidity  and  mortality  in  the  world  directly  due  to 
undernourished  are  so  great  in  many  ]:»laces  that  they  over-shadow 
the  horrors  of  the  war.  Those  who  are  not  informed  about  the  evils 
incident  to  under-nourishment  and  long  continued  dependence  on  food 
that  lacks  essential  nutritive  elements,  and  how  serious  the  food 
shortage  in  the  world  is  today,  may  find  it  difficult  to  believe  that 
millions  of  human  beings  in  this  so-called  civilized  age,  beings  and 
feelings,  affections  and  souls  like  our  own,  are  being  stunted  spiritually 
and  jjhysically  and  are  being  hurried  prematurely  out  of  life  because 
they  cannot  get  enough  to  eat  or  enough  of  the  right  kind  of  food,  and 
yet  this  evidently  is  the  truth.  In  the  United  States  the  ])0]iulation 
has  increased  faster  than  the  number  of  domestic  animals,  and  this 
probably  is  one  of  the  causes  for  the  high  price  of  food.  In  Iuiro]:)e 
the  war  has  reduced  the  number  of  domestic  animals  so  nuich  that 
a  replenishment  from  Countries,  ours  included,  in  which  the  animal 
industry  was  less  severely  injured,  is  urgently  needed. 

Let  us  take  a  look  at  another  diseiase,  about  which  much  unfruitful 
guessing  was  done  until  the  truth  was  learned  through  animal  ex])eri- 
mentation  ;  the  commonest  and  most  widely  disseminated  of  all  diseases. 
namely,  tuberculosis. 

Animal'  experimentation  proved  that  the  manifestations  of  tubercu- 
losis in  different  portions  of  the  body  and  in  the  bodies  of  different 
species  of  animals  all  have  one,  essential  cause ;  it  proved  that  the 
disease  is  contagious ;  it  showed  how  and  why  it  is  contagious  ;  it  led 
to  the  discovery  of  the  tubercle  bacillus  ;  it  ])roved  that  the  tuliercle 
bacillus  in  nature  is  an  obligatory  parasite  ;  it  proved  that  the  bacillus 
is  quic1<ly  destroyed  by  light  and  may  long  remain  alive  and  virulent 
in  dark  places;  it  proved  that  there  are  three  types  of  tubercle  bacilli, 
the  human,  the  bovine  and  the  avian  ;  it  proved  that  huiuan  and  avian 
types  have  no  imi)ortant  significance  for  cattle ;  it  ])roved  that  the 
avian  tyjje  is  not  an  im])ortant  cause  of  disease  among  mammals  ;  it 
proved  that  the  human  type  is  the  commoner  cause  of  tuberculosis 
in  human  beings ;  it  proved  that  children  often  are  attacked  by  the 
bovine  type ;  it  proved  that  the  bovine  tyi)e  is  the  commonest  cause 
of  tuberculosis  among  domestic  mammals  ;  it  led  to  the  discovery  of 
tuberculin,  without  which,  used  as  a  diagnostic  agent,  the  control  and 
eradication  of  tuberculosis  among  food-producing  animals  would  be 
impossible,  etc. 


355 

If  animal  experimentation  had  not  proved  that  tuberculosis  among 
cattle  can  be  eradicated,  wholly  exterminated,  and  its  recurrence  pre- 
vented, without  regard  to  its  continued  persistence  among  human 
beings,  the  cattle  tuberculosis  eradication  w^ork,  for  which  Congress 
now  appropriates  one  and  one-half  million  dollars  annually,  would 
have  the  character  of  a  hopeless  and  ridiculous  project,  unless  utterly 
unreasonable  measures  were  taken  to  prevent  the  reinfection  of  cattle 
with  tubercle  bacilli  from  human  sources. 

One  of  the  difficulties  in  combatting  tuberculosis,  among  persons 
as  well  as  the  lower  animals,  arises  from  its  usually  insidious,  slowlv- 
progressive  nature,  through  which  its  subjects  often  become  dissemina- 
tors of  its  germs  long  before  their  dangerous  conditicm  is  suspected. 
Until  tuberculin  was  discovered  and  its  diagnostic  value  proved,  no 
means  were  available  to  detect  more  than  a  small  proportion  of  the 
existing  cases  of  tuberculosis  among  cattle,  and  the  overlooked  and 
neglected  cases,  through  their  unavoidable  introduction  into  healthy 
herds,  insured  a  further,  rapid  spread  of  the  disease.  Just  what  this 
means  in  terms  of  economy  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  tubercu- 
losis among  the  cattle  of  some  of  the  older  and  more  densely  popu- 
lated countries  of  Europe  is  from  four  to  five  times  as  common  as  it 
is  among  the  cattle  of  our  Country,  and  that  it  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
times  as  common  among  the  cattle  of  our  older  and  more  densely 
populated,  than  it  is  among  those  of  our  newer  and  less  densely  popu- 
lated states. 

Through  the  use  of  tuberculin  the  cattle  tuberculosis  eradication 
work  is  making  excellent  progress,  and  this  shoulcj  be  gratifying,  as 
the  disease  is  a  food  destroying  evil  which  should  not  be  left  as  a 
burdensome  heritage  to  coming  and  more  populous  generations  of 
mankind,  who,  no  doubt,  will  find  the  production  of  sufficient  food, 
even  under  normal  as  distinct  from  war  conditions,  more  difficult  than 
we  and  past  generations  have  found  it  to  be.  The  food  producing 
area  of  the  world  is  fairly  constant ;  actually  it  does  not  change  much 
from  generation  to  generation ;  relatively  it  grows  smaller  as  the 
population   increases. 

Tuberculosis  among  animals  in  the  United  States  alone,  on  the 
basis  of  the  lowest  estimate,  which  I  am  convinced  is  entirely  too  low, 
destroys  at  least  twenty-five  million  dollars  worth  of  urgently  needed 
food  per  annum.  This  estimate  was  made  before  the  war,  at  a  time 
when  milk  cost  the  consumer  eight  and  not  eighteen  cents  per  quart, 
and  when  ])rime  roast  beef  and  porterhouse  steak  retailed  at  from 
eighteen  to  twenty-five  cents  per  pound. 

What  I  have  said  about  seemingly  harmless  ])ut  seriously  dangerous 
disseminators  of  disease  germs  in  speaking  about  tul)erculosis  ai)plies 
also  to  other  infectious  disease;  hence,  the  discovery  of  methods  that 
hel])  to  distinguish  more  certainly  between  safe  and  dangerous  animals 
reduces  the  difficulties  that  confront  our  eflforts  to  control  and  er.-ulioate 


356 


other  costly  animal  plagues,  and  this  is  a  held  in  which  the  economic 
advantages  derived  from  animal  exj^erimentation  are  ]iarticulrly 
valuable. 

If  the  various  biological  tests  for  diseases,  discovered  during  the 
last  thirty  years,  had  been  in  use  a  century  or  two  ago,  the  importa- 
tion of  several  destructive  animal  plagues,  now  causing  heavy  losses 
in  the  United  States,  could  have  been  prevented.  For  example,  our 
Government  is  successfully  eradicating  a  disease  among  horses  known 
as  dourine,  which  entered  the  United  States  and  gained  a  foothold 
because  its  virus  is  at  times  carried  by  horses  which  show  no  symptoms 
of  their  dangerous  condition.  The  closest  study  of  such  infected  horses 
during  the  period  of  time  imported  animals  are  subjected  to  quaran- 
tine does  not  lead  to  their  detection  ;  the  complement  fixation  test  for 
dourine  detects  them  at  once ;  the  test  was  not  known  until  after  the 
unfortunate   importation   of   the   disease. 

This  plague  would  continue  to  spread  rapidly  unless  impossible 
simis  of  money  were  spent  to  check  it  if  the  apparently  innocent 
carriers  and  disseminators  of  its  causative  microparasites  could  not 
be  distinguished  through  the  agency  of  the  test  animal  experimenta- 
tion has  supplied.  Horses  may  not  be  as  indispensable  today  as  they 
were  before  tractors,  motor-trucks  and  other  types  of  automobiles  came 
into  use,  but  the  prices  asked  for  them  indicate  that  it  will  be  sometime 
before  we  can  get  along  without  their  services  or  afford  to  neglect 
their  diseases. 

To  offset  the  example  I  have  given  of  an  instance  in  which  a  bio- 
logical test  was  discovered  too  late  to  exclude  an  animal  plague  from 
our  Country,  though  early  enough  to  insure  its  eradication,  I  will 
give  one  in  which  a  test  was  available  early  enough  to  exclude  a  more 
serious  plague.  The  disease  in  this  instance  is  surra,  a  pernicious 
evil,  indigenous  in  the  southern  portion  of  Asia,  from  which  it  has 
been  s])read  to  several  other  portions  of  the  world,  and  which  is  not 
at  all  choice  in  its  victims,  as  it  may  attack  such  widely  different 
species  of  animals  as  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  goats,  camels,  elephants, 
monkeys,  rats,  etc.  In  cattle  surra  may  run  a  mild  course,  but  once 
they  are  atacked  they  are  apt  to  carry  its  microparasites  in  their 
blood  and  to  remain  sources  from  which  the  disease  spreads  for  a 
long  time. 

A  little  more  than  a  dozen  years  ago  an  attempt  was  made  to  in- 
troduce a  herd  of  about  fifty  East  India  cattle  into  the  United  States, 
to  be  used  in  Texas,  where  it  was  believed  the  native  cattle  could  be 
made  resistant  to  southern  cattle  ticks  by  crossing  them  with  the 
Indian  cattle,  which  are  alleged  to  be  strongly  tick  resistant.  Repeated 
examinations  of  the  blood  of  the  Indian  cattle  were  made  before  their 
departure  from  Asia  and  while  they  were  en  route  to  and  after  their 
arrival  in  the  United  States,  and  nothing  to  arouse  suspicion  was 
found ;  but,   while   they   were   in   quarantine,   rabbit   inoculation   tests 


gave  absolute  proof  that  their  blood  was  infected  with  the  germs  of 
surra.  The  economic  advantages  derived  in  this  instance  from  animal 
experimentation,  a  pattern  of  things  that  repeat  themselves  over  and. 
over  again,  are  so  great,  irrespective  of  whether  we  estimate  them  in 
money,  in  food  saved  or  in  suffering  prevented,  that  they  stagger 
belief.  A  somewhat  similar  story  can  be  told  about  a  threatened  in- 
troduction, into  the  United  States,  with  a  shipment  of  milk  goats,  of 
]\Ialta  or  Mediterranean  fever,  a  disease  of  both  persons  and  animals, 
which  may  exist  in  goats  in  a  form  that  cannot  be  detected  through 
other  means  than  the  use  of  a  test  which  animal  experimentation  has 
given  us. 

Personal  experience  which  stamp  lasting  impressions  on  our  minds 
often  make  instructive  illustrations.  About  thirty-five  years  ago  I 
witnessed  the  examination,  condemnation,  slaughter  and  autopsy  of 
a  magnificent,  handsome,  vigorous,  sleek  and  apparently  healthy  horse, 
owned  by  a  wealthy  man  who  maintained  a  stable  of  four  or  five 
horses  for  family  use.  Horse  after  horse  in  his  stable  had  contracted 
acute,  easily  diagnosed  glanders  and  had  been  condemned,  killed  and 
replaced,  only  this  one  fine  animal  seemed  immune,  until  suspicion 
was  directed  to  it  as  the  probable  source  of  infection,  but  not  until 
seven  or  eight  valuable  horses  had  been  lost.  The  owner  expressed 
himself  to  the  veterinarian  in  charge  of  his  stable  to  the  following 
effect:  "If  yovi  believe  that  the  circumstantial  evidence  which  points 
to  this  horse  as  the  source  of  infection  is  strong  enough,  I  am  willing 
that  it  should  be  killed,  though  it  has  never  been  sick  during  the  time 
I  have  owned  it,  excepting  that  on  one  or  two  occasions  it  had  a  slight 
cold  with  a  meager,  clear,  watery  discharge  from  its  nostrils." 

The  autopsy  revealed  a  grovip  of  small,  perfectly  typical  glanders 
ulcers  on  the  wall  of  the  larynx  and  a  few  small,  chronic  nodules  in 
the  lungs,  so  located  that  they  could  not  be  detected  in  the  living 
animal.  During  two  years  following  the  removal  of  this  originally 
unsuspected  source  of  infection  from  the  stable,  after  which  I  have 
no  record,  no  further  cases  of  glanders  occurred.  If  the  mallein  or 
com])]ement  fixation  test  for  glanders,  later  products  of  animal  experi- 
mentation, had  been  available  at  that  time,  every  horse  in  the  stable 
would  have  been  tested  immediately  after  the  first  case  of  glanders  was 
discovered,  and  the  seemingly  healthy  s])reader  of  the  disease  found  and 
prevented  from  causing  further  losses.  Glanders  is  transmissible  to 
man,  and  a  ho])eless,  painful  and  disgusting  disease  when  it  attacks 
man.  Its  frequency  among  horses  has  enormously  declined  since  it  has 
become  possible  to  pick  out  the  seemingly  healthy  carriers  and  dis- 
seminators of  its  micro])arasite  through  the  use  of  s])ecial  tests  which 
must  be  credited  to  animal  experituentation. 

Think  a  moment  and  realize  the  significance  of  the  following  state- 
ment :  If  the  narrow  and  ridiculous  requirement  was  made  that  nothing 
should  be  favorabl)   credited  to  animal  experimentation  but  the  pain 


oo^ 


against  which  it  has  safeguarded  the  lower  animals  through  the  use 
of  the  tests  it  has  given  us  to  discover  otherwise  undiscoverable 
sources  of  infection,  we  would  be  obliged  to  admit  that  it  has  i)aid  for 
itself  thousands  upon  thousands  of  times  over  again. 

Hog  cholera  is  another  disease  that  merits  attention,  as  the  losses 
due  to  it  in  some  past  years  have  amounted  to  a  hundred  million, 
dollars,  and  in  one  year  are  alleged  to  have  reached  the  two  hundred 
million  dollar  mark.  A  serum  and  a  virus  to  protect  hogs  against 
cholera  have  been  developed  through  animal  experimentation  by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  and  are  now  widely  used 
with  excellent,  economic  results.  Before  they  were  available  many 
hog  breeders  and  feeders  believed  that  it  was  a  good  business  policy 
to  assume  that  their  crop  of  hogs  would  be  destroyed  by  cholera  and 
be  a  total  loss,  on  a  general  average,  about  once  every  five  or  six  years. 
The  losses  did  not  occur  at  regular,  determinable  intervals,  so  that  a 
feeling  of  security  could  be  enjdyed  during  the  four  or  five  years 
following  a  loss  year.  On  the  contrary,  it  could  not  be  predicted  in 
any  year  from  the  occurrence  of  previous  years  whether  the  hogs 
would  go  to  market  or  whether  the  cholera  would  get  them.  This 
uncertainty  did  not  encourage  maximum  production  ;  the  hog  breeding 
and  feeding  business  was  unattractive  to  conservative  men  ;  it  was  too 
much  like  investing  money  in  debatable  securities  that  promise  high 
rates  of  interest  and  too  often  prove  utterly  worthless.  And,  bear 
in  mind,  when  the  high  rates  were  paid  on  money  invested  in  the  hog 
industry,  it  was  the  consumer  who  settled  the  bill. 

How  much  animal  experimentation  has  affected  the  price  of  pork 
])roducts  may  be  judged  from  a  statement  made  by  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  and  recently  published  in  a  News  Letter  of  his  Depart- 
ment. This  statement  asserts  that  the  losses  from  hog  cholera  in  the 
United  States  have  been  reduced  sixty  per  cent  since  the  year  1913,  and 
that  this  equals  a  saving  of  forty-one  million  dollars  ])er  annum.  Let 
us  measure  this  in  food  terms.  Forty-one  million  dollars  worth  of 
hogs,  assuming  that  the  average  retail  i)rice  of  pork  products  is  forty 
cents  per  pound,  amounts  to  one  pound  each  of  nutritious  meat  or 
fat  on  every  one  of  the  3G5  days  in  a  year  for  280,820  human  beings. 
The  assumed  average  price  of  pork  products  probably  is  a  little  too 
high  ;  make,  it  lower  and  the  number  of  human  beings  benefited  in- 
creases. The  importance  of  the  hog  as  a  source  of  human  food  ranks 
next  to  that  of  the  dairy  cow. 

The  money  saved  in  the  United  States  in  one  year,  through  the 
economic  advantages  the  hog  industry  alone  has  derived  from  animal 
ex])erimentation,  invested  in  Victory  bonds,  would  yield  an  annual 
income  greater  than  the  sum  annually  appropriated  by  Congress  for 
the  study  and  control  of  all  the  plagues  that  occur  among  the  domestic 
animals  of  our  Country.  This  is  a  fact  which  should  be  kept  in  mind 
by  those  persons  who  claim  that  our  Government  is  more  eager  to 


o59 

fly  to  the  rescue  of  the  sick  hog  than  it  is  to  care  for  the  sick  chikl. 

The  clear-minded  men  in  our  Congress  who  are  behind  the  appro- 
priations made  for  the  protection  of  our  animal  industry  are  not  moved 
by  sentimental  consideration  for  hogs  or  other  kinds  of  livestock ; 
not  even  by  consideration  for  the  breeders  and  feeders  of  domestic 
animals,  or  for  any  special  industry  or  class  of  men.  They  know 
what  a  relaxation  of  the  fight  against  the  existing  and  possible  evils 
that  destroy  food-producing  animals  would  mean  to  the  whole  people 
of  the  Country,  and  that  the  health  and  welfare  of  a  nation  depend 
on  no  one  thing  quite  as  much  as  an  abundant  sui)ply  of  wholesome 
food. 

Lengthy  dissertations,  similar  to  the  brief  statements  I  have  made 
about  Texas  fever,  tuberculosis,  dourine,  surra,  Malta  fever,  glanders 
and  hog  cholera,  to  show  the  value  of  the  economic  advantages  derived 
from  animal  .experimentation,  could  be  made  about  other  animal 
plagues,  such  as  contagious  pleuro-pneumonia,  rinderpest,  foot  and 
mouth  disease,  anthrax,  blackleg,  sheep  scab,  etc.,  but  our  time  is 
too  short. 

Contagious  pleuro-pneimionia  of  cattle  was  imported  into  the  United 
States  seventy-seven  years  ago.'  Animal  experimentation,  which 
definitely  proved  its  contagiousness  and  further  proved  that  various, 
seemingly  feasible  methods  of  control  were  useless,  led  to  the  adop- 
tion of  the  methods  through  which  it  was  speedily  eradicated.  If  we 
had  been  tardy  about  applying  the  knowledge  animal  experimentation 
gave  us,  the  losses  from  this  plague  soon  would  have  mounted  to 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars. 

Rinderpest,  a  terribly  destructive  disease  of  ruminants,  which  has 
repeatedly  spread  from  its  native  place  in  Asia  into  and  over  Europe 
during  and  after  wars,  but  has  fortunately  never  reached  the  United 
States,  is  being  controlled  by  a  method  similar  to  that  which  is  eflfective 
against  hog  chiolera.  Permit  me  to  give  you  a  few  statistics  on  this 
plague,  as  they  will  help  you  to  comprehend  how  large  the  food 
problems  arc  with  which  animal  experimentation  deals,  and  will  show 
you  that  the  question,  whether  such  exjicrimcntation  should  or  should 
not  be  hampered  by  legislation,  cannot  reasonably  be  settled  by 
jiossibly  well-intentioned  but  uninformed  and  emotionally  mi.sguided 
persons.  Introduced  into  France  after  the  JManco-Prussian  war, 
rinderpest  killed  -"iG,,");];}  cattle  in  two  years.  Introduced  into  Great 
Britian  in  18fio,  it  killed  .■')00,()0()  cattle  in  18  months.  Introduced  into 
Italy  towards  the  end  of  the  18th  century,  it  killed  3,000,000  cattle  in 
three  years.  Introduced  into  South  .Africa  it  killed  080,000  cattle  in 
the  Transvaal  in  18<):  and  1.. "500, 000  in  Cape  Colony  during  1807  and 
1898. 

Since  I  have  touched  on  the  subject  of  stati.stics,  let  me  give  yon 
a  few  about  other  diseases.  .Anthrax,  which  is  most  fatal  to  sheep  and 
cattle  but  also  attacks  a  variety  of  other  animals,   including  man,  is 


3(50 

being  controlled  through  the  agency  of  a  vaccine  su])])lic<;  hv  animal 
experimentation.  In  France,  vaccination  reduced  the  death  rate  due 
to  this  disease  among  sJieep  from  10%  to  0.94%  and  among  cattle  from 
5%  to  0.34%.  Rouget  or  swine  erysipelas  is  a  widespread  disease  in 
Europe,  the  losses  from  which  were  reduced  through  vaccination  from 
20%  to  1.45%'.  Think  of  the  enormous  losses  before  vaccination; 
think  of  the  more  than  1)0%  reduction  in  these  losses.  In  one  region 
m  Europe,  in  which  tetanus  or  lockjaw  is  endemic  and  apt  to  follow 
wounds  of  all  kinds,  25!)  cases  occurred  among  untreated  horses,  and 
not  one  among  7,000  which  received  injections  of  tetanus  antitoxine. 
I  advise  the  anti-vivisectionist  who  visits  this  region  and  accidentally 
steps  on  a  rusty  nail  not  to  fight  too  hard  against  the  preventive  treat- 
ment for  tetanus  or  lockjaw,  because  its  discovery  cost  the  lives  of  a 
number  of  experiment  animals. 

Blackleg,  like  anthrax,  is  caused  by  a  spore-forming,  vegetable 
microparasite.  The  spores  of  both  diseases  live  and  retain  their  viru- 
lence long  periods  of  time  when  they  enter  the  soil,  and  on  infected 
soil  it  is  economically  impossible  to  raise  sheep  and  cattle  unless  they 
are  immunized.  The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  an- 
nually distributes  from  two  to  four  million  doses  of  blackleg  vaccine, 
because  the  men  who  raise  cattle  in  portions  of  our  country  where  the 
infection  exists  have  learned  through  experience  that,  the  losses  from 
blackleg  among  their  young  stock,  unless  it  is  immunized,  are  unbear- 
able. Practical  meix  do  not  look  upon  the  use  of  antitoxic  sera,  vac- 
cines, bacterins  and  other  biological  products  as  an  academic  question 
or  a  subject  for  sentimental  speculation.  With  them  a  thing  must  pay ; 
else  it  is  discarded.  Quack  remedies  may  receive  a  trial  but  are  soon 
discredited,  and  when  thousands  of  level-headed  business  men  demand 
and  use  the  same  agent  year  after  year,  it  must  have  real  virtue. 

About  foot-and-mouth  disease  we  know  relatively  little,  although 
we  do  know  how  extremely  contagious  and  destructive  it  is,  and  that 
it  may  attack  a  number  of  difYerent  sjiecies  of  animals.  The  recent 
outbreaks  in  the  United  States  should  be  fresh  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  are  interested  in  the  source  of  our  daily  food.  To  keep  this 
plague  out  of  the  country,  to  detect  it  at  once  when  it  gains  entrance, 
to  su])])ress  it  without  extravagant  and  unnecessary  expense,  is  possible 
only  through  tests  in  which  living  animals  are  used.  Through  animal 
ex])erimentation  it  has  been  proved  that  this  plague,  the  losses  from 
which  would  soon  mount  to  unbelievable  figures  if  it  were  permitted  to 
'  ravage  unchecked,  may  be  imported  in  ways  that  cannot  be  opposed  by 
animal  quarantine. 

Sheep  scab,  which  at  one  time  threatened  to  destroy  the  wool- 
growing  industry  in  some  parts  of  the  world  j^eculiarly  adapted  for 
sheep  culture,  has  become  a  relatively  unimportant  evil  through  animal 
experimentation. 

The   mysteries   of    infectious   abortion   disease   of   cattle,   an   evil 


361 

which  might  have  been  kept  out  of  our  country  if  the  agglutination  or 
complement  fixation  test  had  been  available  early  enough,  are  gradu- 
ally but  surely  being  revealed  through  animal  experimentation,  and 
this  widespread,  chronic  plague,  prevalent  especially  among  dairv  cattle, 
and  which  is  estimated  to  cost  the  Nation  upwards  of  forty  million  dol- 
lars per  annum,  it  is  hoped  will  soon  be  amendable  to  control.  It  is 
an  uncommonly  prolific  disease  in  those  unsuspected  and  dangerous 
carriers  and  disseminators  of  infection  which  can  be  detected  only 
through  the  use  of  the  special  biological  tests. 

As  I  indicated  in  the  introductory  paragraph  of  my  address,  the 
economic  advantages  derived  from  animal  experimentation  are  so 
great,  numerous  and  varied  that  only  the  high  points  can  be  touched 
here  and  there  in  the  time  at  my  disposal.  Volumes  could  be  written 
on  the  subject  witliout  exhausting  it  or  doing  it  justice.  For  instance, 
I  have  not  referred  to  the  excellent  work  that  has  reduced  the  losses 
caused  by  the  larger  parasites  of  domestic  animals,  parasites  about 
which  we  have  gained  much  knowledge  through  animal  experimentation 
and  about  which  more,  urgently  needed  knowledge  can  be  gained  by 
further  experimentation,  as  is  well  illustrated  by  the  light  recently 
thrown  on  the  life  history  of  the  ascaris,  a  large  parasitic,  round  worm 
with  which  most  persons  are  acquainted.  This  worm,  which  inhabits 
the  intestine  in  its  adult  stage,  is  now  known  to  have  a  larval  stage 
during  which  it  lives  in  the  lung,  where  it  can  cause  inflammatory  proc- 
esses and  ma)»  be  found  to  be  a  direct  and  secondary  cause  of  trouble. 

Another  line  of  experimentation  I  have  not  referred  to  concerns 
animal  foodstuffs,  a  field  in  which  an  enormous  amount  of  work  has 
been  done,  the  value  of  which  lies  not  only  in  securing  the  best  balanced 
and  most  economical  rations  for  animals,  but  also  in  making  foods 
available  which,  if  their  value  had  been  determined  by  accidental 
occurrences,  would  be  a  total  waste,  as  is  shown  by  the  history  of 
cotton-seed  i)roducts  as  food  for  animals.  The  early  use  of  cotton-seed 
]jroducts  caused  many  deaths  among  cattle  and  was  jiarticularly  fatal 
to  swine.  Today  cotton-seed  products  must  be  ranked  among  the 
abundant  and  very  nutritious  feeds  of  domestic  animals.  Thanks  to 
animal  experimentation.     You  see  it  is  a  large  subject. 

Those  who  are  in  doubt  about  the  value  of  the  economic  benefits 
derived  from  animal  exi)erimentation  should  first  learn  what  they  are 
and  then  try  to  determine  what  this  world  would  be  like  today  if 
unreasoning  sentimentality  had  led  us  to  place  animals  on  a  plane  too 
high  to  justify  their  use  for  experimental  purposes.  Ask  what  it  would 
mean  to  have  a  long  list  of  i)arasitic  and  microparasitic  diseases  ravag- 
ing unchecked,  each  causing  yearly  losses  that  could  be  ex])resscd  in 
no  less  than  .seven,  eight  and  nine  figures,  and  the  total  of  which  in  our 
country  would  recjuire  ten  figures.  Remember  the  part  animal  experi- 
mentation played  in  the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal ;  in  the  enor- 
mously increased  prosperity  of  a  territorial  area  in  the  United  States 


362 

great  enough  in  size  and  fertility  to  maintain  a  population  in  excess  of 
one  hundred  niilhon  human  beings  ;  in  the  exclusion  of  foreign  food 
and  apparel,  destroying  diseases  and  in  the  control  and  eradication  of 
infectious  diseases  native  to  our  soil  and  those  that  unfortunately 
entered  from  without. 

And.  while  thinking  of  these  things,  bear  in  mind  that,  though 
great  things  have  been  accomplished,  much  remains  to  be  done.  The 
experimental  method  of  studying  living  organisms  and  the  things  that 
may  affect  them  beneficially  and  adversely  is  comparatively  new^. 
Practically  everything  we  know  about  physiology,  pathology,  biochem- 
istry and  the  actions  and  uses  of  drugs  is  less  than  a  few  hundred  years 
old,  most  of  it  less  than  a  hundred  years,  and  practically  everything  we 
know  about  infectious  diseases,  excepting  that  they  are  communicable 
and  harrowingly  destructive,  is  no  older  than  many  men  who  are  now 
alive.  I  myself  remember  when  the  contagiousness  of  tuberculosis  was 
a  common  subject  of  controversy ;  when  it  was  profoundly  believed  that 
the  disease  was  hereditary,  and  when  Koch's  discovery  of  the  tubercle 
bacillus  was  regarded  as  an  amusing  claim  rather  than  a  great,  mo- 
mentous addition  to  our  knowledge. 

We  must  go  unhampered  in  this  work  ;  to  check  its  progress,  to 
put  obstacles  in  its  way,  to  delay  the  acquisition  of  the  further  knowl- 
edge it  will  give  us,  means  ingratitude  to  the  splendid  workers  who 
have  provided  the  foundation  on  which  we  can  build ;  inhumanity  to 
those  who  look  forward  hopefully  to  relief  from  numeroys  preventable 
causes  of  pain,  sorrow  and  loss,  and  good  reasons  to  expect  the  con- 
tempt of  unborn  and  more  enlightened  generations.  Animal  experi- 
mentation truly  is  a  lamp  that  has  illuminated  many  dark  ])laces,  and 
the  light  from  which  is  urgently  needed  to  expel  remaining  darkness. 
Do  not  permit  it  to  be  extinguished  or  dimmed. 

Only  a  few  words  more,  and  they  concern  the  opinion  expressed 
now  and  then  that  future  generations  will  laugh  at  what  we  call  our 
knowledge  as  we  have  laughed  at  some  of  the  so-called  knowledge  of 
past  generations.  We  should  not  quarrel  with  this  oi:)inion  when  it  is 
limited  to  hypotheses  and  theories,  which  are  rarely  permanent  and 
which  every  educated  person  accepts  as  temporary  substitutes  for 
unobtained  knowledge.  Rut  its  application  to  demonstrated  facts  is 
wholly  another  matter,  which  fails  to  take  into  consideration  that  the 
longest  and  most  important  stride  forward  in  the  world's  intellectual 
development  of  which  we  have  any  record,  'so  far  as  material  things 
are  concerned,  was  taken  when  the  experimental  method  to  gain  knowl- 
edge was  adopted.  And  now  I  am  talking  of  the  experimental  method 
generally,  and  not  specifically  of  that  part  of  it  which  necessitates  the 
use  of  living  animals. 

The  experimental  method  has  made  it  possible  to  discover  and 
l)rove  facts,  to  distinguish  between  facts  and  theories,  and  to  discard 
untenable  beliefs  and  hypotheses.     Facts  are  permanent  additions  to 


363 

the  sum  total  of  human  knowledge  and  constitute  real  knowledge.  The 
present  generation  does  not  laugh  at  the  facts  revealed  and  proved 
by  past  generations,  and  coming  generations  will  not  laugh  at  the  facts 
our  generation  reveals  and  proves.  The  experimental  method,  which 
insists  on  demonstration  before  acceptance,  has  the  healthy  responsi- 
bility for  our  present  low  valuation,  not  of  the  real  knowledge  of  any 
age  or  time,  but  of  the  speculative  philosophies  and  sophistries  which 
burdened  the  minds  even  of  wise  men  before  it  came  into  use. 


THE  ACHIEVEMENTS  IN  DENTAL  MEDICINE  AND  OR.AL 

HYGIENE. 

By 

Ralph  A.  Hamilton,  ]\I.  D. 

Professor  of  Bacteriology  and  Pathology,  Georgetox^'n  University 

Medical  School. 

To  one  in  constant  contact  with  the  varied  i)hases  of  human  suffer- 
ing occasioned  by  disease;  to  the  laborator}-  worker,  whose  life  is  con- 
secrated to  the  task  of  seeking  out  the  hidden  causes  of  disease :  to 
the  sanitary  officer  whose  duty  calls  him  to  protect  the  health  of  the 
community ;  to  the  armies  of  trained  investigators  whose  mission  is  to 
protect  the  world  from  the  ravages  of  epidemic  and  pandemic  disease, 
the  question  of  being  obliged  to  defend  the  methods  necessarily  em- 
])loyed  seems,  at  first  glance,  to  be  an  insult  to  the  public  intelligence. 

During  the  present  jjeriod  of  world-wide  stress  we  find  ourselves 
witness  to  an  example  of  experimental  legislation  that  seriously  im- 
pairs our  personal  liberty  in  this  theoretically  free  country.  By  simi- 
lar methods  of  pernicious  propaganda  the  o])ponents  of  vivisection, 
without  justification  other  than  motives  of  misguided  sentiment,  for 
the  sake  of  a  com])arative  handful  of  animals,  contemplate  tlie  destruc- 
tion of  the  entire  fabric  of  scientific  meflicine,  and  by  retrograde 
metamorphosis  would  relegate  us  to  the  middle  ages  to  prescribe 
imaginary  remedies  for  diseases  as  they  exist  in  the  nomenclature  of 
s|)eculation.  It  is  of  utmost  imjiortance  that  the  public  be  jjlaced  on 
guard  against  this  insidious  cam])aign  of  distortion  and  misrejjresenta- 
tion,  which,  if  successful,  would  stay  the  march  of  medical  ])rogress, 
would  destroy  the  ])Ossibility  of  an  exact  medical  science  and  would 
result  in  greater  toll  of  human  life  than  imagination  can  conceive. 

In  the  limited  time  at  my  (lisi)osal  I  shall  endeavor  to  show  the 
necessity  for  animal  experimentation  in  the  ])ractice  of  dentistry,  and 


364 

by  the  introduction  of  some  of  its  problems  point  out  the  future 
possibiHties  of  an  art  so  closely  allied  to  that  of  medicine  that  the 
border  line  between  the  two  professions  becomes  obliterated. 

The  evolution  of  dentistry  as  a  science  parallels  that  of  medicine 
to  such  an  extent  that  discoveries  in  either  branch  have  left  a  common 
impress.  The  Egyptians  practiced  as  specialists  at  an  early  date,  and 
mummies  recovered  from  their  resting  places  bear  mute  testimony  to 
the  dexterity  with  which  the  teeth  were  filled  and  crowned  with  gold. 
At  the  school  of  Salernum  instruction  was  given  in  the  surgery  of  the 
mouth  and  operations  on  the  teeth.  Under  the  influence  of  this  school 
dentistry  was  taught  as  a  part  of  the  surgeon's  routine  practice.  France 
in  1700  was  the  first  country  to  recognize  dentistry  as  a  specialty. 
The  first  complete  treatise  on  dentistry  was  written  by  Fauchard  in 
172S.  Previous  to  this  date  gleaners  of  dental  literature  must  seek 
the  medical  and  surgical  writings. 

Three  centuries  ago,  Francis  Bacon  made  an  exceedingly  accurate 
comment  on  the  practice  of  medicine.  "Medicine  is  a  science  which 
hath  been,  it  is  said,  more  professed  than  labored  ;  and  yet  more  labored 
than  advanced;  the  labor  being  in  my  judgment  rather  in  circle  than- 
in  progression  ;  for  I  find  much  iteration,  but  small  addition."  The 
accuracy  of  Bacon's  diagnosis  remained  unchallenged  for  nearly  200 
years,  when  Jenner  in  1T96  presented  his  gift  of  vaccination  to  human- 
ity, and  fifty  years  later  the  priceless  boon  of  anesthesia  was  introduced. 
Thus  did  medicine  escape  from  that  vicious  circle  so  aptly  epitomized 
by  Bacon. 

In  the  discovery  of  anesthesia  the  dental  profession  claims  equal 
share  of  honor.  Long  and  Jackson  being  physicians :  both  Wells  and 
Morton  were  dentists.  .  At  that  instant  animal  experimentation  became 
more  humane,  more  useful  and  more  accurate. 

The  use  of  the  microscope  as  a  scientific  instrument  had  its  origin 
in  1683  when  Van  Leeuwenhoek,  the  Dutch  lensmaker,  made  observa- 
tions on  tartar  scraped  from  the  teeth  and  described  bacteria  for  the  first 
time.  It  is  recorded  that  in  his  enthusiasm  for  scientific  research  he 
extracted  one  of  his  own  teeth  and  thereupon  discovered  the  tubular 
nature  of  dentine. 

To  the  genius  of  Louis  Pasteur  is  accredited  the  introduction  into 
the  world  of  Bacteriology,  a  young  giant  destined  to  revolutionize  medi- 
cal thought  and  research,  to  banish  empiricism  and  to  place  medicine 
on  a  rational  and  scientific  basis.  In  the  last  forty  years  it  has  accom- 
plished more  for  the  benefit  of  humanity  than  has  any  other  branch 
of  science  in  many  centuries.  Beginning  with  Pasteur's  investigations 
into  the  cause  of  fermentation,  and  the  overthrow  of  the  theory  of 
spontaneous  generation,  it  gave  to  Lister  in  1(S75  his  inspiration  which 
resulted  in  the  so-called  antisei:)tic  surgery  ushering  in  a  new  era.  By 
the  adoption  of  sound  ]^rincii:)les  of  treatment  based  on  the  prevention 
of  infection  much  of  the  odium  attached  to  hospitals  at  that  time  was 


365 

removed     To  this  changed  viewpoint  may  be  attributed  the  success 
and  popularity  of  the  present-day  hospital. 

For  a  considerable  period  after  Pasteur's  first  discoveries  bacterio- 
logic  investigations  marked  time  while  methods  of  cultivation  and 
study  were  being  improved.  So  that  the  young  science  was  not  firmly 
fixed  upon  its  pedestal  until  Koch  formulated  his  famous  postulates. 
The  observance  of  these  laws  in  the  course  of  bacterial  study  placed 
a  necessary  curb  on  overenthusiastic  investigators  and  enabled  the 
conservative  ones  to  verify  their  work  in  many  instances  with  the 
precision  of  the  mathematician. 

"1.  The  specific  organism  must  always  be  associated  with  the 
disease.  2.  When  isolated  and  (3)  introduced  into  a  healthy  sus- 
ceptible animal  it  must  produce  the  same  disease.  4.  From  that  ani- 
mal it  must  be  again  obtained  in  pure  culture." 

These  simple  rules  based  on  the  employment  of  animals  constitute 
the  rock  upon  which  the  science  of  Bacteriology  was  founded.  The 
rock  of  science  which  the  antivivisectionists  would  annihilate  that  we 
might  build  our  house  once  more  upon  the  shifting  sands  of  ignorance. 
I  shall  not  burden  you  at  this  time  with  a  picture  of  that  trium- 
phant march  of  discovery  that  began  under  the  leadership  of  Pasteur 
and  continues  to  this  day  as  a  true  crusade  in  the  cause  of  humanity. 

Riggs  in  1875,  actuated  by  the  rapidly  crystallizing  germ  theory 
of  disease,  recognized  the  bacterial  factor  in  the  production  of  that 
symptom-complex  known  as  pyorrhea  alveolaris,  the  curse  of  the 
human  race  for  ages.  Riggs's  disease  has  experienced  more  vicissitudes 
of  classification  than  any  other  disease  in  the  nomenclature.  From  the 
time  of  its  first  recorded  observation  in  H-iG,  it  has  been  the  storm 
center  of  controversy  between  those  who  believe  it  to  be  a  constitutional 
aflfection  and  others  having  firmly  fixed  opinions  as  to  its  purely  local 
character.  It  is  pleasant  to  note  in  passing  that  research  work  now 
being  done — by  means  of  animal  experimentation — bids  fair  to  settle 
the  controversy  in  the  near  future. 

About  thirty  years  ago  Miller,  distinguished  for  his  work  in  dental 
pathology,  directed  attention  to  oral  sepsis  as  a  possible  cause  of  consti- 
tutional disease,  but  failed  to  impress  either  profession  with  the  impor- 
tance of  his  observations. 

In  in  10  William  Hunter,  of  England,  pointed  out  the  possibility 
of  systemic  infection  through  lesions  of  the  mouth,  and  at  a  later  date 
his  observations  were  verified  by  the  laboratory  findings  of  Rosenow, 
who,  in  the  course  of  investigation  of  the  blood  in  certain  anemias, 
rheumatism  and  heart  disease,  was  able  to  isolate  certain  organisms 
from  the  blood  and  frequently  found  them  to  be  identical  with  the 
bacteria  cultured  from  patients  suffering  from  pyorrhea  and  dental 
abscesses.  While  bacteria  are  capable  of  entering  any  un])r<)tectc(l  or 
injured  ])art  of  the  body,  it  was  found  by  Rosenow  that  the  most  com- 
mon portals  of  entry  were  through  the  mouth,  the  nose  and  the  tonsils. 


366 

It  was  verified  clinically  by  the  prompt  amelioration  of  symptoms 
when  the  dental  abscesses  and  the  pyorrhea  received  proper  treatment. 

The  term  focus  of  infection  means  that  disease-producing  bacteria 
have  established  a  permanent  residence  in  some  part  of  the  body,  and 
from  that  point  their  toxines  (or  poisons)  are  continually  absorbed  to 
the  detriment  of  the  individual's  health.  In  some  instances  and  under 
favorable  conditions,  the  organisms  themselves  may  enter  the  blood 
stream  and  be  transported  to  some  other  j^art  of  the  body  where 
serious  disturbances  may  arise  after  their  arrival  in  the  new  territory. 
Thus  it  is  that  certain  forms  of  anemia,  rheumatism,  diseases  of  the 
heart  and  kidney  may  be  traced  back  to  some  original  focus  of  infection. 

W'hen  we  become  possessed  of  a  new  automobile  it  is  difificult  to 
repress  the  tendency  to  violate  the  speed  laws.  When  a  new  idea  in 
the  form  of  a  medicine  or  surgical  operation  is  brought  to  light,  it  is 
often  seized  by  its  partisans  as  a  last  hope  of  salvation.  The  efifect  of 
this  overstimulation  is  seen  by  an  immediate  epidemic  of  prescription 
writing  or  of  needless  operations.  I  distinctly  remember  that  surgical 
era  when  the  combination  between  a  small  boy  and  a  hatful  of  green 
apples  meant  a  probable  operation  for  appendicitis.  Fortunately  with 
the  progress  of  scientific  medicine  these  hasty  conclusions  are  becoming 
more  and  more  rare. 

It  is  also  true  that  teeth  have  been  extracted  when  the  focus  was 
in  the  tonsil  or  even  in  the  gall  bladder.  Hence  it  is  of  greatest  impor- 
tance that  the  oral  surgeon  be  especially  qualified  for  a  task  that 
demands  the  greatest  diagnostic  skill  and  judgment.  The  time  is  now 
at  hand  for  an  interchange  of  viewpoint  between  the  medical  and 
dental  jirofessions.  To  many  minds  the  ideal  solution  of  the  problem 
would  be  to  raise  the  standard  to  such  an  extent  that  a  knowledge  of 
medicine  would  be  a  prerecjuisite  to  the  study  of  dentistry,  and  the 
practice  of  oral  surgery  would  take  its  proper  place  as  a  specialty  of 
medicine.  Roswell  Park  entertained  these  views  twenty-five  years 
ago,  and  their  correctness  has  been  amply  verified. 

The  present  status  of  the  graduate  in  dentistry  in  this  country  is 
due  in  great  measure  to  chance.  Chapin  Harris,  a  physician,  recogniz- 
ing the  need  for  more  thorough  training  in  the  dental  art,  visited  several 
medical  schools  in  the  endeavor  to  make  dentistry  a  specialty  of  medi- 
cine. These  schools  lacking  the  breadth  of  Salernum  declined  the 
overtures,  and  Dr.  Harris  in  183!),  organized  the  first  dental  college  in 
the  world — the  Baltimore  College  of  Dental  Surgery. 

The  achievements  of  dentistry  in  the  past  are  due  in  great  measure 
to  a  high  develoi)ment  of  mechanical  skill,  recognized  throughout  the 
civilized  world ;  those  of  the  future  will  depend  on  the  result  of  inten- 
sive research,  now  in  progress,  along  the  lines  of  preventive  medi- 
cine, diet,  metabolism  and  oral  surgery.  It  is  not  mere  speculation 
to  say  that  the  present  high  cost  of  living  accompanied  by  the  inevitable 
food  substitution  will  furnish  new  problems  for  solution  by  experi- 
mental means. 


367 

Our  beloved  autocrat.  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  in  addressing 
a  class  of  dental  graduates  in  18T2,  had  this  to  say  of  oral  hygiene: 
"You  can  tell  the  state  of  a  village  by  going  to  the  mill.  If  it  has 
enough  to  grind  and  grinds  it  well  and  cheaply,  you  will  find  good 
farms  and  well-fed  i)eople ;  so  if  you  see  a  good  square  jaw,  filled  with 
good  sound  teeth,  and  moved  by  a  set  of  muscles  that  mean  business, 
and  do  it,  you  will  find  in  all  probability  that  they  nourish  a  sound 
frame  in  man  or  woman." 

The  history  of  medicine  tells  us  that  all  great  wars  have  taught 
their  lessons.  One  of  them  of  interest  from  a  medico-dental  stand- 
point is  the  report  of  the  provost  marshal's  ofifice.  We  find  that  over 
34  per  cent  of  the  registrants  in  the  draft  of  about  10,000,000  men 
were  rejected  on  account  of  disability.  We  also  note  that  many  of 
the  diseases  for  which  the  registrants  were  rejected  are  diseases  directlv 
traceable  to  focal  infections.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  90  per  cent 
of  the  people  of  this  country  never  consult  a  dentist  we  can  readily 
account  for  so  many  rheumatic  and  heart  diseases.  When  we  add  to 
this  information  the  commonly  repeated  statement  that  between  80  and 
90  per  cent  of  our  school  children  are  afflicted  with  decayed  teeth,  we 
are  impressed  by  the  magnitude  of  the  problem.  Decayed  teeth  obvi- 
ously reduce  the  child's  ability  to  study,  lower  the  resistance  to  disease, 
and  pave  the  way  for  future  illness.  This  is  a  problem  in  which  the 
oral  hygienists,  the  school  authorities,  the  social  workers  and  physicians 
may  unite  to  effect  a  solution.  From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  is  still  need  for  laboratory  animal  experiments. 

The  initial  lecturer  in  this  series,  Dr.  Simon  Flexner,  presented 
a  magnificently  pictured  outline  of  the  world-wide  activities  of  the 
great  Rockefeller  Foundation,  tracing  the  development  of  scientific 
thought  and  of  the  means  that  have  been  emj^loyed  toward  the  elimi- 
nation of  all  disease.  With  unlimited  resources  at  its  disposal  it  has 
been  of  untold  benefit  in  the  reduction  of  mortality  from  disease.  At 
the  present  time  it  has  adopted  the  world  as  its  patient,  and  regarding 
epidemics  as  -focal  infections  has  sent  investigators  to  the  most  remote 
regions  of  the  globe  in  order  that  these  scourges  may  be  swept  from 
the  face  of  the  earth.  We  trust  that  this  institution,  one  of  the  most 
powerfully  organized  and  intelligent  forces  in  t!ie  caus':  of  Iir.m.inity, 
may.  as  years  roll  on,  attain  the  goal  of  its  aml)ition. 

It  has  been  clearly  shown  that  man  has  a  right  to  use,  for  an\  ])ur- 
pose,  the  animals  that  have  been  jjlaced  in  his  domain.  It  has  been 
shown  that  animals  must  of  necessity  be  utilized  for  the  ])urposc  of 
determining  the  s])ecific  nature  of  micro-organisms,  for  the  standardi- 
zation of  drugs,  for  the  manufacture  and  standardization  of  antitoxines 
and  vaccines,  and  also  for  the  ])erfection  of  surgical  operations.  Any 
curtailment  of  this  right  would  result  in  irreparable  damage  to  scien- 
tific medicine.  I'-ach  of  the  lecturers  voice  with  me  their  contcm])t  of 
wanton  cruelty  and  needless  sacrifice  of  animal  life.     It  has  been  shown 


368 

conclusively  that  no  necessity  for  additional  legislation  for  the  protec- 
tion of  animals  exists,  lliis  is  clearly  shown  by  the  failure  to  respond 
to  the  challenge  issued  by  the  Health  Officer  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
in  1901,  to  produce  a  single  authentic  case  of  cruelty  to  animals  within 
the  walls  of  any  medical  school  in  this  city. 

Let  us  not  forget  that  some  of  our  most  far-reaching  discoveries 
were  made  possible  by  experiments  on  heroes  who  voluntarily  sacrificed 
their  lives  upon  the  altar  of  science. 

When  we  think  of  the  great  economic  benefits  derived  from  animal 
experimentation,  of  the  lives  that  have  been  saved,  of  the  maimed  and 
crippled  that  have  been  restored  to  usefulness,  of  the  ])ain  and  anguish 
that  has  been  assuaged,  can  we  imagine  that  the  faithful  dog,  could  he 
have  voice,  would  give  his  consent  to  the  assassination  of  science? 


CONCLUDING  RE.AL\RKS  TO  THE  COURSE  OF  LECTURES 

ON  VIVISECTION 

By 

George  M.  Kober,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,   , 

Dean  of  the  Georgetozvn  University  School  of  Medicine. 

These  two  excellent  lectures  of  singular  importance  conclude  our 
course,  at  least  for  the  present.  We  have  already  bespoken  our  ap- 
preciation to  the  two  speakers  of  the  afternoon,  and  I  deem  it  a  duty 
now  to  voice  our  indebtedness  to  the  Rev.  Francis  A.  Tondorf,  S.  J., 
the  responsible  party  for  the  inauguration  of  this  splendid  course  of 
dissertations  on  a  subject  of  such  vital  importance  to  the  progress  of 
medicine  and  hence  to  the  entire  community. 

You  are  aware,  no  doubt,  that  there  is  a  bill  now  pending  before 
the  Senate  which  is  to  prohibit  all  experimentation  on  dogs  and  which 
would  eventually  lead  to  the  prohibition  of  experimentation  on  all  ani- 
mals. Hearings  were  held  before  the  Senate  Judiciary  Committee 
last  November,  and  these  were  attended  by  leading  scientists  from  all 
over  the  country.  Father  Tondorf  had  been  invited  to  address  this 
body,  and  his  appeal  for  the  rejection  of  the  bill  was  based  entirely  on 
moral  principles.  As  indicated  above,  the  Committee's  judgment  is 
still  pending.  It  seems  quite  certain  that  they  are  not  in  favor  of  the 
measure,  yet  it  is  not  impossible  that  they  may  report  favorably  on 
the  bill  at  some  future  date,  yielding  to  public  sentiment,  should  such 
sponsor  the  cause.  Accordingly  the  Washington  Humane  Society  has 
been  urging  an  active  j^ropaganda  along  these  lines. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  February  last  a  mass  meeting  was  adver- 
tised to  be  held  at  the  Shoreham  Hotel  under  the  auspices  of  the  above- 
named  society.     The  notice  met  the  attention  of  one  of  the  premedical 


369 

students  of  the  Georgetown  University  who  promptly  advised  Father 
Tondorf  of  the  proposed  meeting,  asking  him,  if  possible,  to  be  present 
that  both  sides  of  the  question  might  be  presented.  Father  Tondorf, 
in  turn,  advised  me  of  the  same,  and  after  consultation  it  was  decided 
that  both  of  us  should  attend  the  meeting  and  that  we  should  see  to  it 
that  the  movement  should  not  gain  headway  without  the  public  being 
made  conversant  with  our  side  of  the  question. 

The  meeting  was  addressed  by  a  Air.  Russell,  one-time  editor  of 
the  New  York  Times,  a  journalist  of  considerable  repute.  .In  the 
course  of  his  remarks  he  most  insistently  pressed  all  present  to  activity 
toward  the  passage  of  the  bill,  adding  that  once  a  legislative  measure 
had  been  enacted  regarding  the  dog,  the  way  to  the  other  animals 
would  be  easy.  He  hinted  that  a  new  powerful  weapon  was  within 
reach,  to  wit,  women  suffrage.  His  impeachment  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession was  scathing.  Vivisectionists  were  branded  as  materialists. 
His  attitude  in  its  entirety  was  extremely  aggressive.  Father  Tondorf 
asked  Air.  Russell  whether  he  had  ever  read  the  life  of  Louis  Pasteur, 
and  when  he  replied  that  he  had  not,  he  advised  him  to  do  so,  before 
ever  again  repeating  such  statement^,  as  he  would  find  that  Pasteur  was 
not  only  a  most  fruitful  scientific  experimenter,  but  also  much  beloved 
and  revered  by  all  who  knew  him  for  the  beautiful  spiritual  life  that 
he  had  led. 

Mr.  Russell  had  also  sketched  in  sarcastic  language  the  history 
and  development  of  medicine,  referring  especially  to  the  blood  letting 
and  calomel  era  in  the  treatment  of  disease.  I  informed  the  audience 
that  there  were  periods  when  medical  men  were  obliged  to  experiment 
upon  man  instead  of  the  lower  animals,  which  involved  lamentable 
consequences.  According  to  Professor  Finkelnburg  of  Bonn  me  aver- 
age span  of  human  life  in  the  sixteenth  century  was  between  18  and  20 
years ;  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  it  was  between  25  and  30 
years,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  did  not  greatly  exceed 
38  years,  while  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  it  was  between  45 
and  50  years.  Death  is  inevitable,  but  human  life  and  happiness  has 
been  prolonged,  and  this  has  been  accomplished  largely  by  animal 
experimentation  in  which  our  faithful  canine  friends  played  a  very 
important  part.  The  jjress  comments  of  the  following  day  relative 
to  this  meeting  left  little  doubt  that  Father  Tondorf's  able  rebuttal 
amply  met  Mr.  Russell's  charges. 

Yet  we,  of  the  oi)position,  left  this  meeting  convinced  that  a  new 
plan  of  campaign  was  imperative.  Hitherto  vivisectionists  were  gen- 
erally contented  in  waiting  on  the  defensive.  Accordingly  Father  Ton- 
dorf called  a  special  meeting  of  the  faculty  of  the  Georgetown  Uni- 
versity Medical  School  on  February  23.  Forty  members  of  the  faculty 
were  jjresent.  The  matter  was  freely  discussed,  and  it  was  generally 
agreed  that,  as  similia  similibus  curantur,  we,  too,  should  launch  an 
aggressive  campaign. 


3ro 

A  committee,  ai)pointed  by  the  president,  consistin^^  of  Col.  Will- 
lam  H.  Arthur,  U.  S.  A.,  Director  of  the  Georgetown  University  Hos- 
pital ;  Rev.  Francis  A.  Tondorf,  S.  J.,  head  of  the  Department  of  Physi- 
ology, Georgetown  University  ^ledical  School,  and  myself,  settled  upon 
this  course  of  lectures  on  animal  exj^erimentation,  viewed  in  its  various 
aspects  of  Medicine,  Philanthropy,  Ethics  and  Economics,  by  men  of 
the  highest  authority  in  the  medical  and  other  professions. 

I  also  called  this  matter  to  the  attention  of  the  members  in  session 
upon  the  Congress  on. Medical  Education  held  in  Chicago  March  1  to  3, 
with  the  result  of  the  unanimous  adoption  of  the  following  resolution  : 

"The  Annual  Congress  on  Medical  Education,  composed  of  the 
Council  on  Medical  Education  of  the  American  Medical  Association, 
the  Association  of  American  Medical  Colleges  and  the  Federation  of 
State  Medical  Boards  of  the  United  States,  has  learned  with  regret 
that  serious  efforts  are  being  made- to  enact  Senate  bill  r^.lS,  'A  bill  to 
prohibit  experiments  upon  living  dogs  in  the  District  of  Colrmbia  and 
in  any  of  the  Territorial  or  insidar  possessions  of  the  United  States.' 

"The  highest  aim  of  scientific  medicine  is  the  eradication  of  pre- 
ventable diseases.  The  average  span  of  life  in  the  United  States  has 
been  lengthened  fully  eight  years  during  the  ])ast  twenty-five  years, 
largely  the  result  of  animal  experimentation  in  the  study  of  the  causes, 
prevention  and  treatment  of  communicable  diseases. 

"A  careful  examination  of  the  law  in  force  in  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia show^s  that  the  provisions  of  the  current  law  are  ample  and 
sufficient  to  prevent  cruelty  to  animals,  and  since  the  enactment  of  the 
bill  would  be  the  death  knell  to  the  progress  of  scientific  medicine,  this 
Congress  respectfully  but  earnestly  protests  against  its  enactment  as 
unnecessary  legislation  and  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
human  family,  and  to  animal  husbandry." 

The  course  of  lectures  just  completed  has  sustained  the  position 
of  our  Faculty  and  that  of  the  Congress  on  Medical  Education,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  even  our  opponents  have  j^-ofited  by  this  campaign  of 
enlightenment.  We  now  rest  this  matter  with  the  fair-minded  public. 
Should  our  well-meaning  friends,  misguided  though  they  be,  fancy  that 
any  undue  advantage  has  been,  taken  of  them,  1  am  quite  sure  the 
University  authorities  \vill  gladly  afford  them  an  opportunity  of  refut- 
ing from  this  same  platform  any  statement  made  by  any  of  the 
lecturers. 


371 

MORAL  ASPECTS  OF  VIVISECTIOX. 

A  Digest  of  the  Statement  of 
Rev.  Francis  A.  Tondorf,  S.  J.,  Ph.  D. 

Head  of  the  Department  of  Physiology  Georgetozvn   Universitv 

School  of  Medicine 

Before  the 

SiibcomDiittee  of  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary 

of  the  United  States  Senate,  November  -t.  191!).  6".  12oS 

on 

A  Bill  to  Prohibit  Experiments  Upon  Living  Dogs  in  the  District  of 

Columbia  or  the  Territorial  or  Insular  Possessions 

of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Chairman  : 

The  topic  now  under  discussion  i)resents  two  phases,  to  wit,  the 
sentimental  and  the  moral.  The. former.  I  take  it,  deserves  little,  if 
any,  consideration,  where  human  health  and  hapj^iness  are  at  stake. 
The  latter  rests  wholly  on  philosophical  principles.  These  I  purpose, 
with  your  kindly  indulgence,  briefly  to  review. 

God  has  unquestionably  placed  the  creatures  of  His  hand  under 
man's  dominion  that  they  may  be  of  service  to  him  in  the  prosecution  of 
his  necessary  end.  Accordingly  he  has  an  unequivocal  right  to  the 
use  of  these  creatures  for  any  lawful  purpose  he  sees  fit.  I  insist  on 
lawful  purpose,  the  norm  being  that  in  this  use  man  violates  no  obli- 
gation toward  God,  himself  or  his  fellowmen.  Pleadingly  our  friends, 
the  antivivisectionists,  bid  us  add  a  fourth  condition,  namely,  that  the 
animal's  right  be  held  sacred.  I  answer,  as  anyone  familiar  with  the 
first  ])rinci])les  of  ethics  must  answer,  an  animal  has  no  rights.  A 
right  is  a  moral  i)ower.  and  a  moral  power  is  resident  only  in  a  rational 
being.     To  invoke  barnyard  rights  is  to  codify  barnyard  morals. 

Very  logically  it  is  now  inferred  that  no  irrational  being  can  sufifer 
an  injustice,  for  there  can  be  no  injustice  where  the  injustice  is  not 
recognized,  and  where  there  is  on  the  part  of  the  subject  no  expression 
of  unwillingness.  Nor  have  we  here  the  semblance  of  a  sanction  for 
any  wanton  use  of  animals  in  laboratory  experimentation.  The  second 
condition  above  indicated  strictly  inhibits  this.  To  preclude  any  pos- 
sible misconception  of  the  term  wanton,  1  would  define  it  as  any  such 
use  as  would  occasion  unnecessary  ])ain. 

It  may  be  urged  that  granting  all  this,  vivisection  still  lacks  justifi- 
cation in  that  no  useful  results  have  ever  accrued  therefrom.  "S'ou 
have  just  heard  the  curious  recital  of  data  by  the  opposition  in  their 
atteni])!  to  prove  that  our  many  hours  of  research  have  been  hours 
idly  .si)ent.  and  you  have  heard  my  colleagues  to  the  contrary.     Your 


372 

judgment  is  easily  anticipated.  But  were  we  to  admit,  for  the  sake 
of  argumentation,  that  all  our  efforts  to  date  have  been  fruitless,  with 
the  possibility  of  future  experimentation,  important  findings  might 
still  be  reasonably  hoped  for,  a  sufficient  warrant  surely  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  researches. 

But  no,  the  atrocities  must  not  be  permitted  to  continue  because 
they  are  "Sanctioned  Infamy,"  "Scientific  Torture."  So  the  first 
speaker  on  the  other  side.  A  catalogue  of  our  cruelties  has  been 
handed  you.  They  all  have  their  foundation  in  the  pain  we  inflict. 
To  fix  a  footrule  of  this,  so-styled,  cruelty  therefore  we  first  need 
evidently  understand  what  pain  might  be.  Physiologists  know  com- 
paratively very  little  about  pain.  They  inform  us  that  of  all  the  senses, 
this  sense  is  the  most  widely  distributed,  naturally  so,  as  it  is  the  body's 
safeguard.  That  it  is  a  poorly  localized  sense.  The  nerve  fibers  medi- 
ating pain  they  hand  us  accurately  charted.  But  no  one  seems  to 
touch  a  point  which  is  of  vital  import  right  here,  and  that  is  whether 
the  pain  sense  is  as  specialized  in  the  brute  as  it  is  in  man.  The  indi- 
cations are  all  in  the  negative.  Such  the  brute's  position  in  the  scale 
of  anatomy.  Such  the  post-operative  behavior  which  every  experi- 
menter cannot  but  have  noticed,  a  behavior  indicating  a  minimum  suf- 
fering. Such,  finally,  the  ante  and  post  operative  consequences  to  a 
lack  of  anticipation  of  pain,  a  factor  which  so  tellingly  exaggerates 
this  sense  in  the  human  subject.  In  the  light  of  the  above  it  is  not 
hard  to  see  that  the  tales  of  all  our  cruelties  are  but  the  wild  fancies 
of  prejudiced  imaginations. 

With  the  right  to  inflict  pain  on  the  animal  established,  and  I  might 
state  that  this  we  rarely  do  as  most  operations  are  done  under  an  anes- 
thetic, I  ask  to  what  extent  this  infliction  is  permissible.  As  far  as  is 
necessary.  Nor  am  I  of  the  mind  that  this  is  only  a  right  but  more 
a  solemn  obligation  we  men  of  the  medical  profession  owe  mankind. 
I  rest  my  argument  here  and  challenge  the  opposition  to  reply. 

Statement  of 

George  Martin  Kober,  M.  D.,  LL.  D. 

Dea)i  and  Professor  of  Hygiene  and  Preventive  Medicine, 

Georgetoivn  University  Medical  School. 

Before  the 

Sub  Committee  of  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  of  the 

United  States  Senate  on  November  4,  1919. 

Mr.  Chairman :  As  dean  and  representative  of  the  medical  school  of 
Georgetown  University,  I  am  directed  to  enter  a  respectful  but  em- 
phatic protest  against  the  passage  of  Senate  bill  No.  1258,  to  prohibit 
experiments  upon  living  dogs  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  etc.,  for  the 
reason  that  a  careful  examination  of  the  law  now  in  force  made  by  Dr. 
William  C.  Woodward,  our  professor  of  medical  jurisprudence,  for- 


373 

merly  the  efficient  health  officer  of  this  city  and  now  health  commis- 
sioner of  Boston,  shows  that  the  provisions  of  the  current  law  are 
ample  and  sufficient  to  accomplish  the  laudable  object  of  the  advocates 
of  the  bill,  which,  I  take  it,  is  the  prevention  of'  cruelty  to  animals, 
including  our  faithful  friend  and  companion,  the  dog.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  advocates  insist  in  prohibiting  experiments  upon  living  dogs, 
and  this  sentiment  is  enacted  into  a  law,  it  will  be  the  death  knell  to 
scientific  medicine  and  the  amelioration  of  sickness  and  distress  for 
reasons  already  explained  to  you  by  Other  speakers. 

As  we  understand  the  case,  under  the  current  law,  enacted  in  18T1, 
or  49  years  ago,  amended  in  1873,  1885,  and  1892,  the  members  of  the 
Washington  Humane  Society  have  extreme  power  relative  to  the  search 
of  private  premises  in  which  there  is  reason  to  believe  animals  are 
being  needlessly  tortured ;  that  it  is  not  only  the  privilege  but  also  the 
duty  of  every  member  of  that  society,  as  well  as  of  every  peace  officer, 
to  enforce  the-  law  against  such  offenses ;  and  that  members  of  the 
Washington  Humane  Society  are  oft"ered  a  special  inducement  to  per- 
form their  duty  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  all  fines  and  forfeitures 
become  the  proj^erty  of  their  society  ;  and,  finally,  that  any  person 
undertaking  to  ])erform  experiments  involving  suffering  on  the  part  of 
any  of  the  lower  animals  is  protected  from  punishment  only  when  such 
experiments  are  performed  under  the  authority  of  some  regularly  in- 
corporated medical  college,  university,  or  scientific  society,  and  even 
then  only  as  long  as  they  are  properly  conducted. 

If  this  interpretation  of  the  law  by  Dr.  Woodward  is  sustained 
by  your  honorable  committee  or  its  referees,  the  current  law  is  broad 
enough  to  accomplish  the  purpose.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  claimed 
that  the  present  law  is  defective  and  inoperative,  the  burden  of  proof 
for  additional  legislation  clearly  rests  with  the  advocates  of  this  meas- 
ure and  should  emanate  from  unbiased  sources.  Technically,  the 
proper  way  for  obtaining  such  an  o])ini(jn  would  appear  to  be  by  the 
])resentation  of  a  sjjecific  case  to  the  i)rosecuting  attorney  and  his 
refusal  to  institute  ])rocee(lings  because  of  the  inefficiency  of  the  present 
law  or  by  the  presentation  of  a  s])ecific  case  to  the  court  and  its  dismissal 
by  the  court  for  the  same  reason. 

Is  there  a  real  need  for  additional  legislation?  The  answer  to 
this  question  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  Washington  Humane 
Society,  clothed  with  extraordinary  powers,  has  failed  to  demonstrate 
during  the  last  49  y^ars  a  single  instance  of  abuse.  If  tliis  be  trne.  it 
is  fair  to  assume  that  the  evils  com])lained  of  do  not  exist,  or  that  the 
nK'ml)ers  of  that  society  have  been  derelict  in  their  duty.  The  writer 
is  mnvilling  to  accept  the  latter  explanation,  since  the  members  of  the 
society  liave  shown  marked  zeal  and  devotion  not  only  by  their  per- 
sistent efforts  year  after  year  in  pressing  the  so-called  "antivivisection 
l)iH"  but  also  by  th^eir  indefatigable  efforts  to  collect  and  i)rescnt  evi- 
dence in   favor  of  the  bill.      I'^or  this  jiurpose  the  files  of  newsi)apers. 


374 

periodicals,  medical  journals,  and  the  transactions  of  the  British  Royal 
Commission  on  vivisection  have  been  searched,  but  a  most  careful 
scrutiny  of  the  evidence  fails  to  reveal  a  single  instance  of  cruelty  to 
animals  committed  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

^Ir.  Chairman,  the  highest  aim  of  scientific  medicine  is  the  eradi- 
cation of  preventable  diseases.  In  this  we  have  made  most  commend- 
able progress,  for  medical  history  reveals  the  fact  that  during  the 
Civil  War  out  of  every  1,000  soldiers  enrolled  Go  died  annually,  and 
that  during  the  Spanish-American  War  the  losses  were  still  30  out  of 
every  1,000,  while  during  the  recent  World  War  the  mortality  was 
only' U. 8  per  1,000. 

These  brilliant  results  were  largely  made  possible  by  animal  ex- 
perimentation in  which  our  faithful  canine  friends  played  a  very 
important  part. 

But,  Mr.  Chairman,  let  me  remind  you  that  man  himself,  the  high- 
est of  God's  creatures  has  shared  the  dangers  on  the  battle  field 
against  the  foes  of  mankind,  and  our  great  and  glorious  country  may 
well  be  proud  of  the  heroes  who  gave  up  their  lives  or  offered  them- 
selves for  ex])erimentation  for  the  benefit  of  humanity.  The  yellow 
fever  commission,  with  Maj.  Walter  Reed  as  chairman,  in  1900  demon- 
strated the  transmission  of  yellow  fever  by  the  mosquiio,  which  more 
than  anvthing  else  made  the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal  possible, 
and  without  which  the  ultimate  eradication  of  this  scourge  could  not 
be  accomplished.  1  shall  never  forget  the  glowing  tribute  which  Dr. 
Reed  paid  his  colleagues  for  their  share  in  the  work  which  made  him 
famous,  especially  to  that  brave  young  soldier,  Kissinger,  from  Ohio, 
who  on  December  5,  11)00,  was  the  first  volunteer  to  be  bitten  by  in- 
fected mosquitoes,  with  the  only  provision  that  he  should  receive  no 
]:)ecuniary  reward,  since  as  he  expressed  it,  he  was  actuated  "solely  in 
the  interest  of  humanity  and  the  cause  of  science."  Such  exhibition 
of  moral  courage,  in  the  0]iinion  of  Dr.  Reed,  has  never  been  surpassed 
in  the  annals  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  and  I  will  add,  could 
never  have  been  inspired  except  by  a  man  of  Dr.  Reed's  greatness. 

The  story  of  Sternberg,  Reed,  Agramonte,  Carroll,  and  Lazear  in 
the  battle  against  yellow  fever  has  never  been  acclaimed  with  flags 
or  decorations  but  a  grateful  country  has  recognized  t'ne  services  of 
those  noble  workers  by  granting  a  pension  or  annuity  to  the  surviving 
members  or  families,  except  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Agramonte,  who  is  still 
alive,  a  faithful  worker  and  teacher  in  i)reventive  medicine  in  the  city 
of  Habana. 

Other  medical  men  in  the  United  States  who  with  genuine  Ameri- 
can manhood  have  fallen  victims  of  scientific  research  are  Dr.  Howard 
T.  Ricketts,  who  investigated  typhus  fever  in  Mexico ;  Dr.  Thomas  B. 
McClintic,  of  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service,  who  died  from 
Rocky  Mountain  fever  contracted  while  investigating  the  cause  of  this 
disease ;  and  Dr.  William  W.  Miller,  of  the  same  .service,  who  died  of 
typhoid  while  investigating  that  disease  in  this  city. 


375 

The  recent  World  War  has  also  developed  a  number  of  striking 
demonstrations  of  genuine  devotion  to  science  and  humanity.  We 
read  in  the  Journal  of  American  Medical  Association  October  11,  1919, 
that  two  groups  of  our  brave  men  modestly  made  a  great  sacrifice  for 
their  country  and  for  mankind  in  connection  with  scientific  investiga- 
tions during  the  Great  W^ar.  One  group  offered  themselves  as  sub- 
jects for  the  study  of  the  puzzles  that  threatened  to  work  great  havoc 
among  the  forces  at  the  front. 

As  trench  fever  apparently  is  not  transmissible  to  animals,  the 
recourse  to  human  subjects  became  imperative.  The  volunteers  lent 
themselves  to  the  demonstration  that  the  blood  of  trench- fever  patients 
is  infective  in  order  to  ascertain  what  element  of  the  blood  contains  the 
virus  and  to  discover  the  relation  of  the  louse  to  the  dissemination  of 
the  disease.  The  story  of  some  of  these  endeavors  and  sacrifices  has 
been  recorded  in  the  report  of  the  medical  research  committee  of  the 
American  Red  Cross  (New^  York  Oxford  University  Press,  1918). 
"Words  fail,"  says  the  report,  "in  attempting  to  express  admiration 
of  the  morale  and  courage  of  the  volunteers.  They  have  more  than 
done  their  part  by  endeavoring  to  aid  in  the  accuracy  of  the  experi- 
ments."    Today  trench  fever  can  be  controlled. 

Another  volunteer  sacrifice  has  been  recorded  in  the  efforts  of  the 
Army  Medical  Staff  to  find  a  method  of  preventive  inoculation  against 
measles.  Xo  physician  need  be  reminded  of  the  dangers  to  which 
this  disease  subjected  millions  of  our  men  in  the  two  years  just  passed. 
Here  again,  in  time  of  need,  to  quote  Maj.  Sellards,  who  conducted  the 
tests,  "the  individual  soldier  w^as  found  ready  and  willing  to  oft'er  his 
services  and  accept  such  risk  as  was  inherent  in  these  inoculations." 
This  demonstration  proved  that  measles  could  not  be  inoculated  with 
blood  from  measles  ])atients. 

To  these  loyal  men  the  following  tribute  has  gone.  "The  Surgeon 
General  has  been  informed  of  the  fact  that  you  volunteered  for  the 
measles  investigation.  He  desires  to  express  to  you  his  apjireciation 
of  the  patriotism  and  devotion  to  duty  that  you  have  shown,  and  to 
assure  you  that  your  contribution  to  the  cause  is  appreciated  by  him 
just  as  much  as  was  the  bravery  of  the  men  who  went  into  the  fight  in 
h>ancc." 

In  the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  .Association  for  October 
•^■'),  Surg.  Gen.  Braisted  of  the  I'nited  States  Navy  tells  us  that  his 
annual  report  for  1!)19  (now  in  i)ress)  contains  the  names  of  138 
enlisted  men  of  the  Navy  who  volunteered  to  undergo  certain  experi- 
ments to  determine  the  mode  of  transmission  of  infiiienza.  The  ex- 
periments were  performed  when  the  epidemic  was  at  its  height,  and 
the  men  who  volunteered  for  them  not  only  knew  of  its  awful  fatality 
but  also  had  been  witnesses  of  the  demoralization  ami  tenor  that  beset 
comnnmities  and  individuals  as  this  ])ublic  calamity  garnered  its  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands  of  victims. 


376 

As  well  expressed  by  Dr.  Braisted,  "These  men  are  heroes  in  the 
fullest  and  most  beautiful  meaning  of  the  word,  and  we  should  know 
about  them  and  publish  to  the  world  the  story  of  their  deeds. 

"It  is  impossible  to  honor  too  highly  the  nobility  of  these  men  who 
voluntarily,  calmly,  cheerfully  jeopardized  their  lives  in  the  conduct 
of  an  experiment  undertaken  to  elucidate  the  obscurities  of  diagnosis 
and  treatment,  who  do  this  with  none  of  the  inspiring  features  of 
battle  and  no  prospect  of  being  welcomed  home  as  heroes,  if  they 
survive,  yet  have  had  fully  explained  to  them  the  risk  they  incur." 

Realizing  as  we  all  do  that  sickness  is  the  most  potent  cause  of 
poverty  and  distress,  it  is  clearly  our  duty  to  diminish  the  ravages 
of  disease.  May  I  no.t,  as  a  teacher  of  hygiene  and  preventive  medicine, 
venture  to  express  the  hope  that  the  bill  before  you  will  not  be  enacted, 
so  that  the  warfare  against  preventable  diseases  which  has  been  so 
successfully  waged  by  man  and  his  pet  companion  may  go  on  until  the 
eradication  of  the  invisible  foes  of  mankind  is  finally  accomplished. 

yir.  Chairman,  I  have  always  been  a  friend  of  the  dog,  and  am 
familiar  with  his  faithfulness  and  keen,  almost  human  intelligence ; 
indeed,  one  of  my  great  personal  losses  in  life  was  the  death  from 
hydro])hobia  of  a  family  pet,  who  \vas  the  victim  of  the  bite  of  a 
rabid  dog,  which  might  have  been  prevented  had  not  our  w-ell-meaning 
but  misguided  friends  of  the  Washington  Humane  Society  objected  to 
the  muzzling  of  dogs. 

I  thoroughly  appreciate  many  of  the  virtues  of  the  dog  set  forth 
in  the  Bill  S.  1258,  and  recall  with  genuine  admiration  the  almost 
human  sympathy  which  my  own  pet  companion  evinced  for  the  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers  under  my  care  in  the  early  seventies,  which  sta- 
tioned at  some  of  the  frontier  military  posts  in  the  far  West.  His 
display  of  affection  seemed  almost  supernatural,  and  I  would  never 
have  dared  to  mention  some  of  the  evidences  of  canine  sagacity  except 
for  a  letter  published  in  the  Philadelphia  Medical  Times,  dated  May  1, 
18T5,  on  page  490,  written  by  Dr.  Walter  F.  Atlee,  one  of  America's 
great  surgeons,  which  is  as  follows : 

"De.'\r  Sir:  In  a  letter  recently  received  from  Lancaster,  where  my 
father  resides,  it  is  said,  'A  queer  thing  occurred  just  now.  Father 
was  in  the  office  and  heard  a  dog  yelping  outside  the  door ;  he  paid  no 
attention  until  a  second  and  louder  yelp  was  heard,  when  he  opened  it 
and  found  a  little  brown  dog  standing  on  the  step  upon  three  legs.  He 
brought  him  in,  and  in  examining  the  fourth  leg  found  a  pin  sticking 
in  it.     He  drew  out  the  pin,  and  the  dog  ran  away  again. 

"The  office  of  my  father,  Dr.  Atlee,  is  not  directly  on  the  street, 
but  stands  back,  having  in  front  of  it  some  6  feet,  a  stone  wall,  with  a 
gate.  I  will  add  that  it  has  not  been  possible  to  discover  anything  more 
about  this  dog. 

"This  story  reminds  me  of  something  similar  that  occurred  to  me 
while  studying  medicine  in  the  same  office  nearly  'M)  years  ago.     A  man 


named  Cosgrove,  the  keeper  of  a  low  tavern  near  the  railroad  station, 
had  his  arm  broken  and  came  many  times  to  the  office  to  have  the 
dressings  arranged.  He  was  always  accompanied  by  a  large,  most 
ferocious  looking  bulldog,  that  watched  me  most  attentively,  and  most 
unpleasantly  to  me,  while  bandaging  his  master's  arm.  A  few  weeks 
after  Cosgrove's  case  was  discharged  I  heard  a  noise  at  the  office  door, 
as  if  some  animal  was  pawing  it,  and  on  opening  it  saw  there  this  huge 
bulldog,  accompanied  by  another  dog  that  held  up  one  of  its  front  legs, 
evidently  broken.  They  entered  the  office.  I  cut  several  pieces  of 
wood  and  fastened  them  firmly  to  the  leg  with  adhesive  plaster  after 
straightening  the  limb.  They  left  immediately.  The  dog  that  came 
with  Cosgrove's  dog  I  never  saw  before  or  since." 

These  remarkable  observations  on  canine  sagacity  by  a  distin- 
guished and  reliable  surgeon  lead  me  to  the  conclusion  that  if  the 
faithful,  courageous,  and  cheery  friend  of  man  could  be  heard  in  this 
controversy  bis  answer  would  be  in  the  spirit  of  "self-sacrifice"  for 
the  benefit  of  the  human  race. 

In  conclusion  I  submit  a  further  statement  in  support  of  our  plea 
prepared  by  Dr.  Murray  Gait  Motter,  formerly  professor  of  physiology, 
and  desire  to  emphasize  the  moral  aspect  of  the  question  as  presented 
by  Rev.  Father  Francis  A.  Tondorf ,  at  present  professor  of  physiology 
in  our  medical  school.  The  Christian  virtues  and  human  sympathies 
of  both  of  these  men  are  well  recognized  in  this  comnuinity. 

Since  some  of  our  friends  have  questioned  whether  a  man  in  black- 
cloth,  is  competent  to  speak  on  this  question,  I  may  say  that  it  is  not 
unusual  for  a  priest  to  be  engaged  in  the  scientific  study  of  medicine, 
for  Garrison,  in  his  History  of  Medicine,  tells  us  that  the  earliest  of 
the  microscopists  was  the  learned  Jesuit  priest,  A.  Kircher  (1602-80), 
who  was  at  once  a  mathematician,  physicist,  optician,  orientalist,  mu- 
sician, and  virtuoso,  as  well  as  a  medical  man,  and  who  was  probably 
the  first  to  employ  the  microscope  in  investigating  the  cause  of  disease. 
In  his  Scrutinium  Pestis  (Rome,  1658)  he  not  only  details  seven  experi- 
ments upon  the  nature  of  putrefaction,  showing  how  maggots  and  other 
living  creatures  are  developed  in  decaying  matter,  but  found  that  the 
blood  of  plague  patients  was  filled  with  a  countless  brood  of  worms 
not  perceptible  to  the  naked  eye,  but  to  be  seen  in  all  jnitrefying  matter 
through  the  microscojje.  While  Kircher's  "worms"  could  not  have 
been  identical  with  the  Bacillus  pestis,  as  they  are  invisil)le  with  a  32- 
power  microscope,  yet  it  is  quite  within  the  range  ol  possibility  for 
him  to  have  seen  the  larger  microorganisms,  and  he  was  undouljtedly 
the  first  to  slate  in  cx])licit  terms  the  doctrine  of  a  "contagium  anima- 
tuni"  as  tlif  cause  of  infectious  disease. 


3:8 

A  PLEA  FOR  SANITY  IN  LEGISLATION  ON  ANIMAL  EX- 

PEROIENTATION  (WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE 

TO  THE  DOG). 

By 

Murray  Galt  Motter,  M.  D. 

Formerly   Professor   of  Physiology    Georgetoicn    University   Medieal 

School. 

No  scientist  worthy  the  name  would  for  a  moment  justify  or  tol- 
erate cruelty  (the  infliction  of  unnecessary  pain),  first,  because  his 
primary  objective  is  the  enlightenment  of  ignorance  and  the  relief  of 
distress  ;  secondly,  because  the  infliction  of  unnecessary  pain  defeats 
both  the  method  and  the  object  of  his  investigation.  "It  is  the  right  of 
experiment  and  not  the  right  to  inflict  pain  for  which  plea  is  offered. 
Pain  is  an  irrelevant  factor  which  time  and  skill  are  in  process  of  elimi- 
nating altogether  from  surgical  operating  and  animal  experimentation." 

A  dark  and  ancient  blot  on  the  escutcheon  of  medical  art  has  been 
its  em])iricism,  and  empiricism  today  is  synonymous  with  quackery 
and  charlatanism.  The  experience  of  the  ancient  emj^irics,  methodists, 
and  dogmatists  was  had  in  an  atmosphere  thick  with  the  fog  of  preju- 
dice and  ignorance,  which  prohibited  the  profanation  even  of  the 
cadaver  by  the  scalj^el  of  the  anatomist.  The  physician  of  today  must 
study  not  merely  dead  tissue,  but  living  organisms,  and  as  from  the 
dawn  of  creation  the  lower  forms  of  life  have  contributed  to  the  welfare 
of  the  higher,  so  must  man  ever  draw  upon  the  lower  animals  for  the 
means  of  his  life,  health,  and  knowledge.  Only  through  the  medium 
of  experimental  research  may  medicine  be  raised  from  the  realm  of 
empiricism  to  that  of  exact  science. 

Salus  populi,  suprema  lex.  If  by  law  the  method  and  means  are 
prohibited  by  which  the  health  of  the  people  can  alone  be  secured  and 
promoted,  not  alone  will  the  people  suffer,  but  the  very  raison  d'etre  of 
the  guardians  of  the  people's  health  will  be  removed  and  their  incentive 
killed.  Why  establish  a  Public  Health  Service,  empower  it  under  the 
law  to  "study  and  investigate  the  diseases  of  man  and  conditions  in- 
fluencing the  propagation  and  spread  thereof,"  endow  it  with  h,uge 
funds  for  that  purpose,  and  then  by  subsequent  legislation  proscribe 
the  recognized  means  and  methods  of  pursuing  such  study  and  investi- 
gation ? 

^^'hy  should  the  Inirden  of  proof  in  this  argument  be  thrust  U])on 
the  medical  jjrofession,  so  small  a  pro])ortion  of  the  community  at  large, 
when  it  is  the  safety  of  the  latter  whichj  is  at  stake?  Recent  events 
and  current  costs  have  shown  that  greater  ease  and  higher  emoluments 
are  to  be   found  without  than   within  the  medical   profession.     Why 


379 

should  the  doctor  worry  ?  When,  by  reason  of  his  special  training 
and  experience,  this  work  is  assigned  to  the  biologist,  why  question  not 
only  his  judgment  but  even  his  motives  in  the  selection  of  the  instru- 
mentalities through  which  he  shall  render  this  service  to  humanity  ? 
Does  the  ])atient  or  his  family  dictate  to  the  surgeon  what  anesthetics 
or  antiseptics  he  shall  use,  how  he  shall  place  his  ligatures,  what  instru- 
ments and  procedures  are  necessary  in  a  capital  operation — because, 
forsooth,  these  questions  have  all  been  settled  by  animal  exi^erimen- 
tation  ? 

As  was  well  said  in  the  hearings  before  the  British  Parliament  on 
the  dogs  protection  bill  (happily  defeated  the  past  summer):  "This 
bill  is  a  test  case — not  for  the  dog  nor  the  medical  profession,  but  for 
the  intelligence  of  the  House  of  Commons."  .  and,  again,  "The  jiassage 
of  this  bill  must  involve  an  unnecessary  continuation  of  pain,  disease, 
and  death  among  men,  women,  and  children."  to  say  nothing  of  dogs. 
But  there  is  still  another,  reflex  influence  of  such  legislation,  which  must 
revert  to  the  detriment  of  the  public;  if  the  spirit  of  research  be  thus 
ruthlessly  stifled  and  killed,  the  intellectual  standards  of  the  medical 
profession  must  sufifer  and,  consequently,  the  power  and  efficiency  of 
the  medical  practitioner  be  impaired. 

To  come  more  specifically  to  the  matter  in  hand :  The  argument 
that  some  animal  other  than  the  dog  can  be  used  for  experimental  pur- 
poses is  wholly  unworthy  of  those  who  would  advance  it.  If  the  pur- 
pose of  antivivisection  legislation  is  the  protection  of  animals,  no  class 
distinctions  can  be  admitted,  but  to  be  thoroughly  consistent  these  ad- 
vocates must  at  once  and  forever  forego  all  animal  foods  and  become 
absolute  vegetarians.  Nay  more,  should  they  not  at  once  cease  in  any 
way  to  use  any  of  the  lower  animals  for  their  own  selfish  benefit? 

This  aside,  however,  the  dog  can  not  be  replaced  by  any  other  ani- 
mal in  the  research  laboratory  for  certain  kinds  of  experimental  work. 
Fishes,  frogs,  and  turtles,  birds  and  poultry,  mice,  rats,  guinea  pigs  and 
rabbits,  goats,  sheep,  pigs,  cows  and  horses,  monkeys  and  apes,  all 
have  their  uses,  and  are  used  in  experimental  biology  and  medicine,  but 
no  one  of  these  has  so  manifested  a  desire  for  the  companionship  and 
service  of  man  as  to  live  with  him  under  the  same  roof  and  ])artake 
of  the  food  from  his  table.  Similarity  of  environment  and  habit  are 
important  and  determining  factors  in  comparative  biology  :  moreover, 
availability,  size,  and  character  of  tissues  must  all  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration in  the  selection  of  the  i)roper  animal  for  experimental 
purj)oses. 

It  is  for  these  rea.sons  that  the  doi;  has  l)een  an  especially  fruitful 
object  of  experimentation  in  the  study  of  the  functions  and  disorders 
of  the  digestive  system.  Not  every  surgeon,  such  as  William  Beau- 
mont, has  the  opi)ortunity  of  making  direct,  experimental  observation 
upon  a  human  object,  such  as  .\lexis  St.  Martin  ;  and  the  difticulties 
entailed  in  bringing  the  human  subject  to  heel,  and  keejjing  him  under 


380 

such  control  as  is  essential  for  accurate  results,  are  sufficiently  obvious. 
Recent  investigations  as  to  the  causes,  nature,  and  methods  of  preven- 
tion of  diabetes,  rickets  and  disorders  of  the  teeth  have  been  made 
possible  through  experimental  observations  on  the  dog ;  and  the  modern 
wonders  of  intestinal  surgery,  without  the  dog  as  a  medium,  would 
have  been  impossible. 

In  the  study  of  the  functions  and  disorders  of  the  heart  and  cir- 
culatory system,  the  dog  has  been  invaluable  and  irreplaceable.  Save 
for  the  aid  atTorded  by  our  faithful  friend  and  servitor,  the  dog,  no 
surgeon  would  venture  to  suture  a  stab  wound  of  the  heart ;  and  many 
of  our  boys,  sore  wounded  on  the  battle  fields  "over  there,"  have  re- 
turned and  recovered  only  by  the  aid  of  the  dogs  used  in  the  develop- 
ment of  modern  vascular  surgery  and  the  technique  of  blood  transfu- 
sion. Was  this  service  any  more  dangerous  or  less  effective,  than  that 
rendered  by  the  military  dogs,  sent  through  the  hail  of  machine  gun 
fire  to  ferret  out  the  wounded  doughboy  in  no  man's  land?  Some 
of  the  survivors  of  the  latter  group  have,  with  universal  approval  and 
applause,  been  decorated  "for  distinguished  service,"  shall  we  deprive 
their  survivors  of  the  possibility  of  similar  distinguished  service. 

In  the  fevered  search  for  some  means  of  withstanding  the  hellish 
Hun  assaults  with  poisonous  gas,  it  was  tried  out  on  the  goat ;  but  the 
goat  proved  immune,  and  therefore  ineffective,  and  again  the  dog  came 
to  the  rescue  of  man  as  the  sacrificial  test  object.  Goats,  pasturing  in 
fields  submerged  with  poisonous  gas,  cropped  their  fill  unconcerned. 
Men,  sent  to  ascertain  which  was  at  fault,  goat  or  gas,  succumbed. 
The  dog  was  found  to  be  sufficiently  susceptible,  avaliable,  and  .effective 
in  the  experimental  researches  which  enabled  us  finally  to  outhun  the 
Hun  in  his  devilish  method  of  modern  warfare. 

Xor  has  the  dog  been,  always  and  solely,  the  sacrificial  victim. 
Through  the  study  of  the  dog  and  its  diseases,  by  exactly  the  same 
methods  and  with  exactly  the  same  motives,  experimental  pharmacol- 
ogy has  devised  and  used  the  means  of  curing  the  dog  of  a  distressing 
and  fatal  distemper. 

]\Iany  dogs  have  been  awarded  medals  for  rescuing  human  beings 
from  drowning,  not  a  few  have  lost  their  lives  in  the  effort,  and  their 
memory  has  been  perpetuated  in  stone  and  bronze.  Let  us  have  a  me- 
morial laboratory,  erected  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  dogs  which, 
shall  yield  their  lives  in  the  rescue  of  human  subjects  of  dropsy,  beings 
drowned  in  their  own  juices. 

The  problems  of  cerebral  localization  were  solved,  and  the  opera- 
tive procedures,  which  have  rescued  human  victims  of  brain  traumas 
and  tumors  and  restored  them  to  length  of  years  and  functional  activity, 
have  been  perfected  through  experimental  work  on  dogs.  The  antago- 
nism between  the  blood  serum  of  dogs  and  the  microbic  cause  of  tuber- 
culosis has  lead  to  some  interesting  and  helpful  results  in  the  fight 
against  the  great 'white  plague.     The  deleterious  effects  of  alcohol  and 


381 

narcotics  upon  the  vital  economy  have  been  studied  on  dogs  ;  and,  to- 
day, the  experimental,  laboratory  dog  bids  fair  to  rescue  unnumbered 
children  from  the  torments  of  tetany. 

It  is  just  because  the  dog  is  the  friend  of  man,  has  lived  in  the 
same  environment  and  on  much  the  same  food,  that  it  is  indispensable 
in  the  studies  which  shall  lead  to  the  alleviation  of  many  of  the  ills  to 
which  human  flesh  is  heir. 

If,  as  some  of  our  dogophile  friends  would  seem  to  imply,  we  are 
to  endow  the  dog  with  a  soul  and  higher  aspirations  for  service,  w^hile 
we  pay  tribute  to  its  eminent  faithfulness  and  service  in  the  past,  can 
one  conceive  a  higher  ambition  for  the  superdog  of  the  future  than 
thus  to  continue  in  the  faithful  and  necessary  service  of  man,  by  stalk- 
ing and  balking,  the  grim  monsters  of  distress,  disease,  and  death? 


Q>\ 


